PURSE CLEANING AND PACKING

Getting ready for my trip, I knew it was time to tackle the chore I hate the most: packing and cleaning out my purse. I haven't cleaned out my suitcase entirely since my trip to Toronto in late September, and I got the purse shortly after, so it was time to get organized. God forbid I should get on the plane with a pair nail clippers tucked away in the lining of my purse or even worse some cosmetic item that either didn't fit the 3 oz or smaller category or was a liquid or a gel and not encased in a zip lock quart size baggie. Who knows was havoc that would wreak on the TSA??

The main reason for the purse cleaning was to find my W-2 form, which seemed to have vanished. All the places I "thought" I had put it--in my desk, alongside my printer, at home in that pile designated "tax items," in the bottom of my grocery carry tote, or intermingled in with some other papers that seemed necessary at the time I put them away but now had no meaning whatsoever. No such luck.

I started this task Monday night, sifting through papers that had piled up and up and up since at least Thanksgiving (but of course hidden out of sight from Thanksgiving and Christmas guests). The first go-through yielded nothing of what I was looking for but I did find a lot of other things I had forgotten about. The second time through was Tuesday night, a little more frantically, since a desk cleaning before leaving work had not turned up the missing document either. So much stuff even there I had forgotten about: a printout of race results from 2006; a race form from 2007; pictures sent through e-mail; etc.

Finally, last night, at about 10:30, 30 minutes after I would have liked to have been in bed, after not only sifting through the piles for a third time, but actually throwing enough stuff away to fill an entire wastebasket, I still had not found the W-2. I decided to give it one more day (today) before I asked for a reprint.

Sometime between going to bed and waking up this morning the simple idea of where to look came to me: my purse. Who would have thought??

But of course I didn't have time this morning before going to the gym and had intended "first thing" to get on that as soon as I got to work. Of course, that got pushed back and back and back, but finally I decided I had to stop working and start the digging out of my purse. I knew it was going to be a pretty big job, but I had no idea what a mess I had! Here's just a partial list of what was in my purse:

• 2 wallets (one has a cell phone holder so that's why I use it for my main ATM/credit cards and can carry that alone when wanting to go "light" when shopping. The other has the overflow);
• sun glasses (even though rarely used since October--just in case!);
• a nearly empty bottle of Advil;
• numerous assorted packets of ibuprofen and/or cold medicines from the office medicine chest;
• a bag of cough drops, with most of the cough drops loose in my purse;
• enough sticks of gum lying loose in the bottom of my purse to make up 3 more packs (where did all that gum go??);
• a pack of gum in its pack;
• 3 pens;
• 3 partially used gift cards (I've been wondering where they were);
• 1 unused gift card (I was hoping it was still there);
• 3 gloves, none of which match (one of which I've been looking for for a long time);
• synpathy cards my aunt gave me at my uncle's funeral a month ago from when my dad died 2 years ago (what is the need, I know);
• a sympathy card I had intended to mail out but couldn't find;
• several coupons, none expired yet fortunately;
• a Baker's chocolate recipe booklet;
• a chicken soup recipe;
• movie ticket stubs (Marley & Me; Benjamin Button; Gran Torino);
• my regular glasses;
• loose change;
• a change purse;
• my camera;
• extra batteries for camera;
• my Polar HR watch, in need of a new battery;
• warranty info for the Polar HR watch;
• a package of kleenex;
• a cell phone charger;
• checkbook;
• nail clippers;
• enough loose grocery receipts and other papers to half fill my wastebasket at work;
• and last but not least? the W-2 form. Yipee!

Mission accomplished, and it was absolutely the last thing I pulled out of the dark depths of that bag I drag around everywhere. But now I have to cram all this stuff back into the purse to get it home and sort through it again before boarding the plane! (I can't even dare complain about a sore shoulder!)

FAT TUESDAY

Trying not to live up to the name of the day (no Paczkis for me, even though I am Polish!), I was at the gym bright and early again today, going into week two of worst work weeks from hell. Actually, I would have been there anyway, but if I needed an excuse, one reason would be to maintain weight. Another would be to combat the stress of the job. I can't help it if I really like to work out. (most of the time)

Our office has its own annual version of Fat Tuesday, where they live up to the "fat" by everyone bringing goodies in the form of any desert you can think of, including the Mardi Gras King Cake, and the office supplies pizza either for a grazing party or a Fat Tuesday luncheon. Of course, there is a catch: you have to pay to indulge, with all monies collected going to fund our yearly charitable giving program. So you can ease some of that guilt by giving to a good cause.

My sister, on the other hand, trying to quit smoking, bought 2 boxes of the Packis and---are you ready for this?--ate 17 of the things! OMG! A donut coma was imminent. And this is the sister who is as thin as a rail. What is it about the skinny ones that can eat themselves sick and still not gain any weight??

Last week's workout wrapup is as follows:

• Monday: weights; spin


• Tuesday: Run 3.5; swim 30 minutes


• Wednesday: Spin; swim 20 minutes (in a hurry)


• Thursday: Run 3.5; swim 30 minutes


• Friday: Weights


• Saturday: Run 10k


• Sunday: Spin 1 hour 30 min.; swim 1200

Our Sunday spin that Jan and I did consisted of two DVDs: the first was a circuit spin workout, which we thought would be a nice warmup for the longer one. Ha! It was 40 minutes non-stop. Absolutely no rest, other than going from a standing to a seated climb or a standing flat to a seated flat. By the end of that one, we were looking forward to it being over. I almost dreaded the second one. The second one, however, was great! It was an actual "road" spin DVD, meaning you had scenery and real cyclists to follow. The scenery? Las Vegas, in the Valley of Fire State Park. It was wonderful, and the 60 minutes went by so fast. What was really great about it was on the screen you had a countdown clock, a cadence counter and instructions on what cadence to follow, and the heart rate effort to go by for each segment of the workout. Along with that, you had some motivating music and inspirational quotes faded in and out. It was much more realistic of a ride also, and no spin instructor screaming at you to "come on work it, don't quit, you can do this, etc." We just rode along in silence with the other cyclists, enjoying the scenery, cranking it up for a hill when necessary, spinning at high cadence on the downhills, and as I said, the time went by so fast it was unbelievable. I definitely would do that ride again and wouldn't mind having that DVD for my own collection.

Last night was the first official babysitting night with the new granddaughter. I'm glad they weren't gone too long because sitting there holding her and watching TV, I had a very hard time staying awake myself!

And then this morning, back at the gym at 6:15. I'm glad I got there early and was able to first get a treadmill and second get in the 4 mile planned workout before heading into the stress pit. I know I've mentioned this before, but one of my favorite treadmill workouts is Yasso 800s. I can do these for a long time it seems and not get too sore or too tired. Naturally, I'm not really pushing the pace right now, going strictly for distance, but it is easier to keep a consistent pace on the treadmill, one of the advantages of indoor workouts. I just know the weather is going to break soon, but right now I can't focus on outdoor running in the early mornings when it is this cold and I am really pressed for time and would rather get in a quality workout than gut it out and go out in the cold darkness.

What keeps me going right now is knowing that next week at this time I'm going to be on a beach in Cancun!

Happy training this week!

IT CAN'T LAST MUCH LONGER, CAN IT??

Another wintry blast hit us again today. I was up at o'dark thirty again to get in a workout before heading to the office. Not one flake was falling or had fallen up to that time. By the time I came out of the gym and got into the office, it was light out enough to look out the window and of course the whole city was transformed again, with enough snow falling to cover the streets and any cars parked outside. Snow, all day long. Bleh! But apparently the cold and snow didn't stop these brave souls from doing the polar bear plunge at the local lake, to raise money for charity. Much as I like outdoor swimming, it isn't in this weather!

I decided to stay in and run on the treadmill but wished I hadn't once I got started. First, the pesty old man at the gym was there pedaling the Schwinn Airdyne at about .5 mph. Somehow, he didn't see me come into the cardio room, even though I went out and back in at least 3 times before I got settled. Once he saw me, however, all he wanted to do was chat, asking the same questions he always asks. Sigh...

Next, it was about 80 degrees in there again, so I went to the locker room to get the fan I had stored there.

Then, none of the heart rate monitors worked correctly on any of the treadmills, so I went out again to find my watch, only to have that not work correctly either. I really think it was the watch messing with the monitor on the mills, because they both registered the same heart rate: 79. So after trying out every treadmill, I finally settled on one and did pretty well--even though my heart rate went down if I ran and up if I walked--until about 45 minutes into it and then everything went downhill. No clue why, but it just seemed too hard. I think part of it was my annoyance at wasting so much time getting settled and knowing I needed to get to the office, making me impatient to get it done.

So, my 7 mile run ended up being only a 10k. That was about all I could manage.

Sunday, the plan is a double spin workout with Jan and whoever else shows up. Swim first, then spin, and maybe if I'm still feeling good, a short run. I have one more week before my vacation here and want to get in as many workouts as I can! I've been planning my weekly training based on being off for a week the first week of March, so I'm not planning on feeling too guilty if I don't get too many workouts in!

YESTERDAY'S LUNCH

That's what I finally got to eat today: yesterday's lunch.

Its been so crazy busy at work the last 5 days I don't even think of eating. I bring my lunch, but most of the days I either eat between doing other things or so late in the day it might as well be supper. Yesterday I never even thought about eating until I got home and realized I didn't have to make a lunch for today.

Today, like the last 3 days, started out at 4:15 am, which had me answering my own question from a year or so ago: if you had to get up at 4 (4:15, 4:30, or whatever) am to work out, would you? For me, the answer is always yes. I would much rather give up an hour of sleep than miss a workout. As it was, I missed my lunchtime strength workout yesterday because I barely had time to think let alone leave the office for an hour or more. I was grouchy because of that--not that I hadn't really worked out for the day but that I had to miss something planned through no fault of my own. I would rather then get up earlier just to get in the workouts I want to do, rather than miss one. At least I got a spinning workout in yesterday.

This morning, I was on the treadmill before 6 am and at my desk by 7:30. Not that early for some of you, but considering we have a fairly flex schedule (anytime in before 9:30 and any time out after 4:30, just get in 8 hours), it was early. Only a few people are in the office that early.

But getting up earlier and in the office earlier than usual this week made me start relating my work to my training: you have to be organized to get it all done, or at least get done what you want and need to do. For me, the two have to mesh. I have to be organized enough in my personal life to be able to get to the gym early enough to work out before work; to have food to bring to work today so I don't have to buy a breakfast or lunch every day or graze around the office like so many others do; to have the clothes/shoes/jewelry organized the night before so I'm not fishing around in the semi dark with my glasses to be sure everything matches; to be sure I have clean workout clothes every day, and some days two outfits depending on whether I'm doing weights or pilates in the afternoon or evening; to be organized enough in my thoughts once I am at work to follow through on a project to not make mistakes; to be able to work through distractions; to have the stamina to get me through a 10+ hour day and be able to come back and do it all over again the next day, and the next, and the next. Just like in training.

So everything ties in together. There can be no loose threads if you want to be able to get up every day and accomplish all the things you plan to do that day, either in training or working. You have to have enough foresight to be able to see the big picture, and follow your training program or work procedures to achieve success in what you are trying to accomplish and not get sidetracked. And the biggest thing you need to have is the discipline to do all this. Running/triathlon have given me what I already didn't have.

Hope everyone is having a good week. I'll catch up with you when I can!

INDOOR TRIATHLON, Feb. 15, 2009

This was a new event this year, replacing the old standby of 15 years. Comparing the two events, the new location wins hands down. The Aquatic Center as its called is part of a high school complex near the lakeshore that is less than 10 years old. This school is a rival of the school my kids went to and have always had a very competitive swim and diving program. I observed all the trophies and awards won by both the boys' and girls' teams over the years. The pool is fairly new, 10 lanes, and has a big spectating area. The bike area was down the hall a ways from the pool in a "practice gym, but it was on the same level as the pool and locker rooms. And the run was right across the hall in the main gym.

Somehow, Jan and I did not get in the same heat this year, starting an hour apart. So I watched her start her swim, bike, and run and then went and got myself ready.

Being in a different venue, I didn't see too many of the old familiar faces from past years and noticed it was a considerably older crowd, as opposed to many more young adults and/or teens at the old location, maybe because it was held at a YMCA.

I hadn't spent too much time thinking about what I wanted to do goalwise with this event. I hesitate to use the word "race" because I participate, rarely race. Each leg was 15 minutes. But once I started getting focused on the task at hand, I figured I could do between 13 and 15 laps on the swim, 5 miles on the bike, and 15 laps on the run (10 to the mile).

The water was colder in the pool once I got in than it felt on my hand before starting, so it pretty much took my breath away jumping in. There were 4 men and 2 women in my heat, and the guys were all pretty fast. I just stayed steady and kept count to stay focused. Increasing my swim frequency and distance during January has certainly helped put me over the hump on the swim. I never have had a problem with swimming, but moving on to the next event was much easier this year than ever before. I finished 13 laps even on the ending whistle, 650 yards. More than the last two years.

Transition is always a challenge for me, and today was no different. To help alleviate some of the stress I get into trying to hustle to the bike, get the shoes, socks, and shirt on, get the bike set up, etc. all in 5 minutes, I wore my bike shorts over my suit for a change. I was glad I did, since I had to muscle my way onto the bike I had chosen earlier because of bike size. No way did I want a bike with too big a frame and a seat that could not be lowered! So I had to tell one of the male participants that another bike would be a better choice for him and please let me have this one because its smaller. And fortunately for me, the seat was perfect because time ran out to get prepared and it was time to pedal.

So the bike began and I see that I am spinning very easily, almost too easily and I realize after more than 3 minutes that that's basically what I am doing: spinning easily. So I try to add some gears, only to not be able to figure this particular bike out. After a few attempts and ending up with less gears than I thought I was putting on, I asked for help. Of course it was an easy fix, and I put on some more gears, but figuring my legs would pay for it on the run. The damage was done for my goal distance, however, because I did not begin adding gears fast enough to make a difference without practically killing myself. But I did reach 4.99 miles. Try as I might, I could not get that odometer to turn over to the 5 mile mark. (I think I did better than this on the bike last year.)

T2 was easy: just walk across the hallway, make a connection with your lap counter, get some water, stretch if time, etc. Nothing too hard here.

The run then was done on an inside track on the basketball court. On, not above like past years. And on the same level, too. No more climbing steps to the third floor!

We finally started, and round and round we go. It was 10 laps to the mile, so once I got started I decided I wanted to do 15 laps at least. The air was dry just like my contacts were, so I was finding myself squinting to be able to see. I've never had this much trouble with contacts at an indoor tri, and the contacts were starting to get so dry I was afraid they would blink out, so I pretty much partially kept my eyes shut and just ran. One thing on a track is the momentum carries you around easier than if on a treadmill, so the only part of the run that was tough was the dry air--my throat was now getting so dry I could barely swallow. The last few laps got pretty tough because of the throat thing, but I did make a quick dash off to a drinking fountain close by and was able to merge back onto the track and with the others in my heat easily enough. They called the one minute warning and I knew I would make my goal of 15 laps, but then I realized in the last 10 seconds that if I could kick it in some I could make it to the 1/4 lap mark and pick that up as well. So I met my goal distance and then just a little: 15 1/4 laps.

The awards were after the last two heats, so we had a while to wait. I was into my usual dry coughing because of the throat irritation from the dry air. I always chew gum during the bike and run, but it didn't help at all this time. It was at least 3 hours before I could get the throat thing under control.

On to the awards. Age groups were 10 year spans, so I wasn't that hopeful of winning anything, but fortunately took 3rd in my age group, with Jan first, and we have no idea who 2nd place was. She wasn't there to collect her medal and we didn't recognize her name. We don't know our totals, so I don't know how they compare to last year or how I measured up against the others in my age group. I'm fairly certain that the bike probably kept me from taking 2nd place, but of course don't know for sure.

Now for the weekly wrapup: Week 6 (last week):

• Sunday: Run 3 miles; swim 1 mile; baby day
• Monday: Spin class; visit baby
• Tuesday: Run 3.5 miles;
• Wednesday: Spin class; weight class; visit baby at home;
• Thursday: Run 2 miles;
• Friday: Swim 3/4 mile
• Saturday: off (because of tri the next day).

One thing I found with my base training is that even though the indoor tris only have 15 or 20 minute time increments for each event, you are pushing yourself the entire time, and this whole thing went easier than ever and I wasn't wiped out after. My recovery was within 15 minutes, so that was very encouraging. You don't have that long time on the bike to get ready for the run. The 15 minutes seem long until you hit the middle and then boom! the time runs out before you know it.

Hope everyone's weekend--Valentines and/or races--went well and now its on to the next week!

SUNSHINE & SHORTS

Today was one of those miracle days we get so rarely in the winter: sunshine and almost 60 degrees! Woo hoo! I had planned to run in the morning, but it was raining AND we had a high wind advisory. I don't really know how much wind there was, but the combination of the two didn't thrill me enough to get up and get dressed to go out in the dark, especially when I knew it was going to be warm and sunny by lunch time.

I headed out, without shorts however, since I didn't believe it was going to really feel like 60 degrees--60 degrees when you still have many inches of snow on the ground does not feel as warm as 60 degrees does when it is dry.

But surprise, surprise! It really was warm. Right away. Not that "its warm once you get warmed up" feel, but right away. And while I had checked the wind speed before going out (7-8 mph they said), clearly that was recorded somewhere other than the downtown area. Going out, heading north again, it was fine, but I could feel the gusts hitting me from the west and the strong southerly breeze from behind. Where else would we be getting that warm air after all? Today, however, I did much better with the wind than Saturday, even though it was pretty much the same--20-35 mph. It was only a short, lunchtime run, so there really was no way to avoid the wind, so I just gutted it out, enjoying the moments when it was calm, and putting my head down when it was gusting. It wouldn't have mattered if it was a tornado, just to have that sunshine that has been missing for so long was such a treat. I did notice though that the sidewalks that still had snowpiles on them Saturday were almost clear today.

Weekly Wrapup, Week 5, 2009 Triathlon Training (last week):

• Sunday: 45 min. Spin, 1 mile swim (43:21--my slowest in a LONG time);
• Monday: Weights; 2 mile run;
• Tuesday: Swim 1/2 mile; run 3 miles;
• Wednesday: off due to that rib problem;
• Thursday: off due to that rib problem;
• Friday: off due to a dead battery (the car, not me!);
• Saturday: 7 on the 7th.

Monthly gym challenge totals from January showed I BEAT JAN! Woo hoo! On the swim distance and run distance anyway. The swim is a given, but the run is unusual.

Update on 200 situp challenge: Got behind a little last week but am up to 125. I have lost about a half inch on the waist. Part of that is from the situps, part of it is the other workout regimen, and part of it is strictly watching what I've been eating and drinking for the last 2 weeks at least. I find once you get about 2 weeks into any "diet" that it starts becoming more of a habit to either pick the right foods or eat more of the right foods.

Sleeping has been much better as well, taking the melatonin every night. I think I mentioned this, but if not, what I am finding is I fall asleep easier and even if I wake up I go back to sleep readily. I have been taking three 3mg tablets a night. I don't know if there is any magic dosage to take, but that works for me.

And now I'm into Week 6, 2009 Triathlon Training. This weekend is the indoor triathlon, so my schedule is lighter than other weeks. The real work isn't going to start until next month anyway, so for now its just base building.

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

I've spent a lot of time in hospitals over the last 8 years--for deaths, illness, accident, and tests and surgeries for ailing parents. Today was spent at the hospital for the miracle that is birth: today my "baby" had a baby: Kerri Marie, 6 lb. 14 oz. 20 3/4", born 2/8/09, 8:42 pm.

Dad Justin, Kerri, Mom Alysha.

Dad and daughter.

All cleaned up.

It was a LONG day. The wait was worth it. She's like a little doll. The girl drought is over.

7 on the 7th--No facemasks needed

It was with great excitement that I planned to run the 7 on the 7th run today. The temperature at 7:45 am was already 47 degrees! Go figure on that one since it was 16 yesterday about the same time. No matter, I'll take it. I did notice the winds were about 17-20 mph however, so I still dressed in double layers except for my hands.

I decided to run from the gym figuring there would still be more streets clear of ice and snow than around my house. There was just enough melting action on Friday to pretty much figure side streets and sidewalks would still have patches of ice on them.

I headed out going north and almost thought I was overdressed, but once I turned west and into the wind, whoa! Now I was glad I still had on the Barney coat with the hood. I hadn't put it on yet, but within a couple of miles it was pretty obvious I was going to need it. The temperature did not factor in the wind chill, which was probably in the 30s. Running north or east, the winds weren't bad; south and west was another matter. It was so bad that after 3 miles I was almost tempted to head back to the gym and face the treadmill for the remaining 4 miles, but my mind would not let me do it.

So I came up with a plan to run west first, then south, then head back east, figuring the worst would be behind me in the earlier miles. Actually once I got away from downtown with the tall buildings and the river running through it, the winds were not as bad, but of course now I was faced with running on the "other side of the tracks" in the not-so-great part of town. Most people in those neighborhoods I found weren't usually up and about until closer to noon, so there wasn't much activity or traffic, allowing me to run mostly in the street. But it was a crappy run, no other way to describe it. Running into the wind was causing my heart rate to go up and stay up. Even walk breaks didn't bring it down enough to keep it down for any length of time, so I finally decided to run until it went to the max and then walk to get it back down, so it was pretty much a run some, walk some event today. After a while I ignored the monitor and just ran 2 or 3 blocks and then walked one. Doing this allowed me to relax and not worry about how much time I was out there, just enjoying the day and giving me a chance to do a lot of thinking.

When it was finally time to turn back, suddenly the winds shifted and once again I found myself running into the wind! How does that happen?? Actually, I noticed the closer I got to downtown again that the winds seemed variable, meaning sometimes I would be running into the wind, and other times it would be pushing me along. It totally reminded me of a March day, with sporadic sunshine breaking through the heavy clouds, warm temps, and gusty winds, all at the same time it seemed. Just enough of a hint of spring to come to make the run enjoyable from that standpoint.

I stopped keeping track of time after a while, but did notice my watch was at 1:24 by the time I finished, right at 12 minute miles, so I didn't do as bad as I thought I was going to do. I hope everyone who participated today had good runs and good weather! Only 41 more days until spring!

SIDELINED

This week, I got a little "off track" on my training due to what I thought was a training injury. Tuesday afternoon, sitting at work, out of the blue, my right scapula area started aching and was very tight. This is the same side that was broken in the bike accident, so I just figured it was from maybe overdoing it on the weights the day before. By that evening, my shoulder was hurting as well, and every time I took a breath I could feel it catch from the tightness. I stretched out the arms and shoulders and still didn't think too much of it until the next morning when I got up and wham! I could hardly move that side. Every breath hurt, and my scapula was really aching and painful now. I had planned to go to spinning that day and my weight class, but after it took me about twice as long to get dressed and ready for work (having already decided against the spin class), I started having doubts about my weight class that day too.

As the day went on, the mid-back, near the spine started really aching, and it was all I could do to stay focused at work because of the discomfort. I had started taking ibuprofen that morning and continued to stretch some throughout the day. By the time I left work, the pain was tolerable but still there, so I figured I would be okay by morning.

Wednesday nights are family night, so I had a houseful for dinner and pretty much was able to block out the discomfort in my shoulder/back, but by the time everyone left, I started becoming aware of pain in the right ribs (which had also been broken) and up into my armpit. All this brought back a lot of painful memories! I used the stick to work out some of the soreness and was really surprised at how intensely sharp the pain was. More ibuprofen and went to bed with the heating pad only to awaken about 4:30 am with pain that was so distracting I could not get back to sleep.

Thursday is usually a run/swim day, but even though my legs felt fine, my mind could not wrap itself around working out for any reason. After stretching, icing, using my shiatsu massager, and more ibuprofen, I went to work with a block of ice and my heating pad. I stuck the ice block under the arm and into the armpit and after about 20 minutes put the heat on. That seemed to help a lot, so by the end of the day I was actually feeling somewhat decent.

Still, on the way home, my mind somehow decided I should stop at the chiropractor's office just to see if there was anything that they could do to clear this up. I showed up without an appointment and was glad to see this was their slow day and they could get me in.

After an adjustment, I immediately felt much better. I asked if something was out of whack and was told I had "a rib head that was sticking up there." Well, so much for that! Glad I went in. I learned after my accident that my chiropractor was much more effective in helping me heal up than anything else I had ever done, and faster too. What I thought was a pulled muscle was actually just a displaced rib alignment, which can happen with as little as a sneeze.

Today I can breath without pain, have no pain or discomfort in the shoulder, ribs, scapula, or anywhere for that matter. I got ready to head to the gym for a spin class, only to have my car not start! Dead battery.

So this week has been 1 for 4. For all that, my legs should be more than ready for the 7 on the 7th tomorrow!

PEANUT SCARE

My "Wordless Wednesday" pic was of peanuts too, but I'm actually far from wordless when it comes to my annoyance with this whole peanut scare going on. For someone who loves just about anything made from peanuts, including peanuts themselves, I am finding this to be very limiting in some of my everyday choices. I'm here to admit: I'm a peanut addict.

But its not peanuts that are the problem. Its the mishandling of peanuts or peanut products by a company that was very callous in putting the public health at risk. Which makes my personal problem with this whole thing even more annoying in that one of our local merchants where I frequently shop has taken it upon themselves to totally erradicate anything made with peanuts from their store shelves, and those that haven't been removed you're forbidden to buy. No signs up anywhere announcing this, so imagine my surprise when, after checking repeatedly the recall list, I went shopping for some of my routine peanut product purchases only to hear when I got to the checkout, "I can't sell these to you." What?? Do I now need to show ID to purchase peanut items? "I don't know why," the clerk says. I know why, but it makes no sense, so why don't you take them off the shelves then??

Needless to say, I thought I was wrong in my assessment of the recall list, only to find out when I got home that I was right and the store was wrong. I contacted the store manager then to ask the reason for either emptying the shelves of anything that was contaminated or suspected to be contaminated or if you do get to the checkout forbidden to buy anything suspected to be containated, only to be given the lame answer, "We want to be sure." Yeah, I want to be sure too, which is why I checked the list first and the labels on the products second to be sure they weren't anywhere near the contaminated plant.

So my next step will be to try to reason with the higher ups to PLEASE return these things that are not part of the recall to the shelves and worry about the stuff that is contaminated.

I know, I know, the recall list gets bigger every day, and I am fully aware of this and willing to take responsibility for watching this list daily if necessary, just give me back my peanuts!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

DENNY'S GRAND SLAM TUESDAY

This is your Tuesday public service announcement:

Apparently, after their "successful" Superbowl ad, Denny's has decided to give everyone in America a free Grand Slam breakfast from 6 am - 2 pm. Get yours today.

JANUARY TOTALS

Run: 47 miles

Swim: 8 miles (14,080 yards)

Bike/spin: 6 rides, 5.25 hours

Yoga/Pilates: 3 classes (3 hours)

Strength: 4 hours

Ab work: 3 x week (12 workouts), up to 125 of the 200 situp challenge.

One thing that has helped me be more consistent is the 2009 challenge at my gym for swim, bike, run for the year: swim 50 miles; spin/bike: 75 rides; run/walk 300 miles. So I've got a good start for the year.

February goals:

Run: 50 miles

Swim: 8-10 miles

Bike/spin: 8 rides, 8 hours

Yoga/Pilates: 4 classes, 4 hours

Strength: 4 hours

Ab work: Try to finish with 200 situp challenge

And let's not forget my double digit challenge: 2 miles on 2/2. Today is usually not a workout day other than maybe weights, and I almost forgot about the double digit challenge of my own, so after my weight workout I headed to the treadmill to crank out 2 miles. I figured I would end up walking some, but surprisingly, I ran the entire time, and my heart rate stayed acceptable until about 1.5 miles but still never went into my highest zone. There are a lot of theories here for this, but one I'm wondering about, and its something I did in the past, was doing a warmup before running, warmup meaning something with legs and upper body. Nothing heavy or long, just maybe 10 minutes. I think I am going to have to try that again. I'm thinking by doing the weights ahead of time, the heart rate has a chance to come up so by the time I start running it stays more consistent. I don't really know, but its going to be something I'll at least explore a little further.

Last week's recap:

Week 4, 2009 Triathlon Training:

Last week was a "rest" week after 3 fairly intense, but steady building weeks.

• Monday: off
• Tuesday: run 30 min., swim 30 min.
• Wednesday: Weight class
• Thursday: Run 30 min. swim 20 min.
• Friday: off
• Saturday: Run 5 miles outside
• Sunday: Spin 45 min., swim 1 mile
• Ab work T, Th, Sat.

This week I'll be adding one spin class, and am planning on the 7 on the 7th challenge on Saturday. I still plan to use Fridays for off days, and Mondays as well other than weights. I'm trying to pace myself so by spring I'll have a good base and hopefully most workouts will go outside by then.

On another note, sleeping has become more consistent. I have been taking the melatonin and while I don't sleep straight through the night without waking, I am able to go right back to sleep until the alarm, so that seems to be a big plus. I'll continue to use until either I forget and seem to not need it or become immune to it.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

SUPERBOWL XLIII

Having a Superbowl party today? Still looking for that recipe that will wow your guests? Look no further. Behold, the Bacon Explosion, the latest sensation for all you meat lovers out there. No more boring chips and dip or chips and salsa parties. You haven't lived (but you just might die) until you've tried this creation. (Watch the video. Blogger was not going to let me upload this today, and I don't want you to miss the chance to try this before the day is out.)

The recipe can be found here.

And what about dessert? My daughter made these Superbowl cakes for a work party:

Enjoy, and may the best team win!