February Musings...

I fell off the blogging wagon and when you fall off it's hard to get back on. So here's a little recap of what I've been up to this month, bullet point style!

• I love the Olympics and am sad they are over, but happy to get my sleep schedule back on track...staying up to watch the games has made me one tired girl
• My favorite moment of the Olympics, hands down, was when USA's Noelle Pikus-Pace lept into the stands after her last run in the sliding center...that's what the Olympics and racing is all about: the joy, elation and fulfillment you can get at the end of competition. You've put in so much time and effort to realize a goal and whatever that goal may be, you were able to accomplish what you set out to do. And being able to celebrate with your loved ones who have been there supporting you (in good times and in bad) all along is icing on the cake.
• I would have loved to be able to watch a little bit of curling, but realize this is not a prime time coverage event, oh well. I hear they have a curling league at the Ice Palace here...any takers?? 
• Aaron's parents were in town for a month! and we got A LOT of things done around the house: painting, new hardwood floors, kitchen cabinets and drawers reorganized to name a few things.

• We have a new pet...Herman. He's been hanging out on our wall lately...however, he might have gone missing....

• Well over 10,000 feet of climbing in 1 week on the bike a new personal record and my legs couldn't be happier! Loving the Pinerallo lately but.....

• It's also time to dust off the TT bike as Lavaman is about a month away

• Happy Hours with friends!

• I don't even like Valentine's Day, silly Hallmark holiday, shouldn't you be nice to the people you care about everyday and not just 1 day a year?! I digress. Aaron and I agreed we weren't going to do anything special and I'm one lucky girl...Aaron, the Olympics, sushi and a bottle of wine, that's a great night for me!

• Running and sunsets at Kakaako Park 

• Mountain Bike races at Camp Timberline

Happy February!

January

Evil PT Paddles I got to experience thanks to Michelle! 

The view outside my office

Moonrise

Can you see him?

Flat!

Mokes Swim...should have had waterproof camera! 

This picture does NOT do the sunrise this morning justice at all!!

 

Surf was massive this week. 

As was the wind

 

My attempt at a green thumb...mint and cilantro...

I now have basil going as well

Aaron's parents are in town...birthday dinner for Linda

Sharon's Ride

All the craze these days in schools...

kendamas...

harder than they look

Whipping winds...Aaron windsurfing 

 

What happens when it's rainy season...

I'll get a better one soon

Easy spin after work and brought home breakfast

So lucky to be able to be a part of SOAS and have the

 support of them as well as these other great brands!

Sharon's Ride

Last weekend there was a "ride" on Oahu called Sharon's Ride. This is a "ride" that supports the Epilepsy Foundation of Hawai'i. A great cause and reason (although who really needs a reason to ride bikes) to get out there and ride your bike for a couple of hours. It is meant to be a nice little 100k "ride," but this ride is police escorted so for the lead group it really turns into a sufferfest for 60 miles.

This year we didn't get the motorcycle cop support the ride usually gets (we only got 1) because the ride happened to take place on the same day as the ProBowl and the motorcycle cops had other priorities. Pro football players get more support than lowly cyclists on this island.

 

Because of this, the beginning of the ride was super punchy and for me, tough to keep up. I can maintain a steady pace for a long period of time, but when the rides get punchy, I tend to suffer a bit more. My goal was to hang on to the lead pack for as long as possible, then when I got dropped, which was bound to happen, continue on at a hard, steady pace for the reminder of the ride. Well, I made it for about 15 miles of the ride (I would like to think I could have held on for longer if I was really racing or if it wasn't as punchy, but I guess these are some of the things I need to work on, there's always room for progress, lesson learned) and then it was hold steady for the rest of the time all by myself (or with 3 other guys who barley spoke a word the entire rest of the ride and every time I tried to take a pull, they passed me again right away and wouldn't let me ride in front...even though every time they got in front we slowed down quite a bit....egos).

The rest of the ride was uneventful....a steady, hard, consistent training day. The ride ended up being just shy of 62 miles and it was a beautiful morning for a bike ride to support a great cause. 

Selfish

Triathlon and sport in general can be a very selfish endeavor.

self·ish

adjective

1. 1.

   (of a person, action, or motive) lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure.

The more serious you I get or the more success you I want, the more selfish you I can become. I realize that when I have a goal or something I want to accomplish, I can be extremely selfish, making sure I'm doing everything I need to be doing for myself, trying to convince others to swimbikerun with me because it's on my plan (even if they are doing the same race and may have other ideas on what they want to do) and generally just being self-involved (in sport). I may not be the most pleasant person to be around if I miss a workout or have to change things up a bit (being more flexible with plans is something I'm working on). I do like having those plans. If I miss a workout, don't have something planned for this particular day, get home late from work and something needs to be pushed to another day, I can be grumpy. I need my activity and when I have a plan, I like to follow it. Plans have a purpose and they are there to keep us focused on the end goal, but for me, right now, sacrificing relationships and the important things in life isn't always worth the grumpiness that can come when I'm so 100% attached to the plan. THE TAKEAWAY...Activities can always be shifted and plans are always evolving, nothing is set in stone. <----I need to remember this!

These goals or desires are MY goals and desires not yours, not hers, not his and it's not fair for me to not make time for the important things in life, the things that will be there after life in sport can no longer happen (and this day will come for everyone): like family, relationships, friendships, enjoying a glass of wine or a movie with the people I care about, walking the beach, going on an unplanned adventure, enjoying a sunrise or sunset, going for a hike or a walk around the block, exploring new places, relaxing with a book and some tea, even trying to learn a different activity that might make me tired for swimbikerun, etc.

Have you heard this story?

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous - yes.

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour their entire contents into the jar - effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, and your children - Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, and your car.

The sand is everything else. The small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the rocks first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers with friends."

....a good little story to remind us about the important things in life...

As racing season starts to creep up on us, I just wanted to remind myself that nothing is more important than my family, my relationship, the people in my life and my health. No matter what my goals are in sport this year, I want to make sure I keep those relationships happy, healthy and strong. It's those connections that keep me going when the going gets tough and without them I wouldn't be able to do what I love.

January in Pictures...so far

One of the things I wanted to do this year was take a picture a day for the entire year. Not sure what this will turn in to, but it could be kinda fun. Sounds easy right?! Notsomuch! Having my phone or camera at the ready at all times has the ability to ruin moments: at times, things just need to happen without cameras or phones interrupting and we just need to remember them in our heads, pictures don't need to be taken for everything and sometimes it's downright inappropriate to have a camera ...that's what our minds are for, among other things...I am determined to make this happen so sometimes pictures won't be very entertaining or paradise-y (I know, not a word), but this is the beginning of my attempt to take a picture a day for a year.

January (so far)

Happy New Year Pineapple Hill Loops on the bike

A run through Lanikai

Team SOAS!!!

Sun setting on the Windward side

Cup of Gold 

Merry Christmas! 

Drive Home

Sun behind the Koolaus 

Waianae Side

Happy Birthday Makani....hike and traditional ava ceremony

SoleHope

Yay Aaron!!

so very true

Bringing back Tantalus Tuesdays

So, this is just a little snapshot of what I've been up to this month so far. More to come!

2014

better late than never....

It's been a great holiday season (marathon, parents visit, Aaron's birthday!, holiday parties, hikes, bike rides, Christmas, New Years, home renovations, slow time at work cause the kiddos are on break) and I'm ready to get back into the swing of things in both work and swimbikerun.

Welcome 2014!

Honolulu Marathon

This isn't a typical race report. I had my dream marathon for this year, it couldn't have gone better. I'm super excited about the result so I wanted to talk about the good things that happened on race day!

I had a pretty lofty goal going into this, the 41st Honolulu Marathon....3:15 was the goal. I didn't verbalize this goal out loud very much and very few people knew what my actual time goal was. I think I was a little embarrassed to say it out-loud. I knew and believed it was possible given the training I've put in this year, but still an 18-minute PR on a marathon course not known to produce PRs is a lot. But I don't know any better, Honolulu is the only marathon I've ever run (besides Ironman marathons and those are completely different). I order to accomplish this goal, it was going to take near perfect execution, for me, when it came to pace, nutrition and hydration.

But most of all it was going to take mental strength. Physically, aerobically, athletically, etc., I was ready, my body knew what it was going to have to do in order to accomplish this and it was ready to perform, but my head needed to get there...I don't think my head was actually there until right before bed Saturday night (probably not the best mental strategy, but live and learn). I was perusing FB and my friend Karen posted this quote (thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, I can't say that enough, Karen for posting this, I'm pretty sure it's what got me through the race), "Your body achieves what your mind believes." Like I said before, I knew what I was capable of, but I needed to believe it. I probably repeated that phrase to myself, no joke, more than 500 times on Sunday. I wrote it on my hand on Saturday night just to be sure I wouldn't forget it...now after having repeated it for 3 hours, I don't think I'll ever forget it and I hope I don't. It was the single most helpful, positive phrase that's ever helped me get through a race.

I wrote some other things on my hand as well...key times I wanted to hit/be close to at certain points in the race. Every 5 miles I had a time goal I wanted to be near. And when I hit that goal, I simply wiped if off my hand. Ticking the miles off and wiping them away. I've never been very good at pacing so I thought that this might help...and it did (thanks Michelle for the suggestion). Focus on what's ahead and not what's already done.

Another thing I wanted to do during this race was keep smiling, when I felt a twinge of pain or wanting to be done, wanting to walk, hopping on a bike to get to the finish, or any negative thought that would detract from my final goal, I forced myself to smile. I probably looked like a crazy person out there at some points running down the street with a huge smile on my face, but if I was smiling I was trying to trick myself into feeling great and enjoying the day, "What the mind believes, your body achieves."

I high-fived every kid/volunteer on the course that asked for one. I didn't go out of my way, but if I was running by and a kid had their hand in the air, I slapped it! If they were offering water or Gatorade, I took it. I didn't always drink it, but I took it and the little kids that were handing out water, begging people to take it, were super happy when I did (well, at least I thought they were, I could have been delirious).

One section of this race that always gets me is the looooooooong section through Kahala and then the slow climb up DiamondHead (before that there was the BOCA aid station with salvation Coke, thank you ladies! and Glen, I think you were there too!! Then Joy and Doom at the gas station with a backup Coke that came with me almost to the top of DiamondHead. Thank you, thank you, thank you!). Back to Kahala....I told myself pre-race that no matter what I was NOT allowed to be negative through this section and by no means was I going to allow myself to walk, even through the aid stations, even if I was on goal pace and had time to spare and could still PR...no walking and no being negative. You know what, it worked, I didn't walk and I stayed positive, "what the mind believes, the body achieves."

After cresting DiamondHead and having a little over a mile to go, knowing I was going to have a huge PR, the major stitch in my side was a minor concern. I was too happy to let a little cramp get in my way. I made it to the finish in 3:16.26, and 18-minute PR and have never been SO SORE. I sat down under the showers and didn't want to move, I finally composed myself and was able to congratulate and celebrate with everyone else that was finishing.

Training for this marathon was no easy task, it took a lot of hard work and support from others. I couldn't have done it alone and it sure wouldn't have been as fun. Plenty runs that I did NOT want to complete, runs that I dragged people on (they did NOT want to do them), early wake ups, hot runs in the middle of the day, track sessions, wet rainy runs, hilly runs, you name it. Thank you to everyone that was there on those runs with me, Aaron, Gary and Michelle suffered through the majority of them with me, so thank you! Thank you Raul for believing in me, telling me what to do even when I didn't want to do it and helping me believe in myself when I thought your idea of a 3:15 was nuts! Thanks Mom and Pop for being there for the race! And everyone else who was there racing and doing what we love, if you were out there on Sunday, congrats!

Now it's time to relax and celebrate!

"What the mind believes, the body achieves"