Thursday, December 20, 2012

Running Against the Wind (or Why I Force My Klutzy Self onto the Treadmill)

Over the past month or so I've been easing my way back into running.  You see, after my last half marathon I kind of didn't want to run so much.


But with Ann Marie on the mend from her stress fracture, and thinking ahead to race goals for next year, it was time to start getting serious about running again.


I started with mostly weekend runs, building up to 3 or 4 miles.  When Ann Marie said she was cleared for a 3.5 mile walk/run, I was ready to rock!  We planned to go to the trail around the lake by her house.  It was a chilly day, so we dressed warmly.


The activity itself went very well, as we were able to run most of the way (yay Ann Marie!)  The trouble was the wind.  It was fierce.  And completely unpredictable.  One moment we would be moving along, chatting about her adorable baby niece and nephew, and the next I would be apologizing.


I went running again the next day, and the wind was still an issue.

There were tailwinds.


There were crosswinds.


And there were headwinds.


Because of this, and the fact that it gets dark here around 4pm (seriously, when did I move to Alaska??) I have to commit to running on the treadmill if I want to run during the week.  And if you think that running indoors on a machine is safer, well, you've never seen me run on a treadmill.

For instance, I get very hot in about 62 seconds.


I should put up a splatter screen at the back of my treadmill.

And, I'm easily distracted.


This little incident left me with a bruise the size of a silver dollar on my forearm.

And then, there's this little situation that happened last week:

I went to the gym to do some speed work.  I did a little over 4 miles and kept about 1.5 miles near an 8:30 min/per mile pace.  It was ultra-fast for me and by the end I was drenched in sweat liquid awesome!  So since I'm a considerate person, I went and got the spray bottle and a paper towel to wipe down my machine.



It was super clean.

I saw a girl looking at me strangely but I couldn't figure out why...until I was walking out the door and I realized that I had cleaned the treadmill NEXT to mine.


I haven't been back to the gym all week.





Please tell me you've done something as ridiculous as this in your life!  And if you have, share it in the comments below!


UPCOMING POSTS:   I'm actually not sure yet, but I will be doing more running and swimming soon so that's probably what the subject matter will be.

Finally, thank you to all who commented on the blog birthday post!  I have listened and agree that it is time for a new banner, so stay tuned for that in the coming weeks!!

Linking up once more with the talented folk at Yeah Write. Click on the button below for some great reads!

Friday, December 7, 2012

Happy Birthday!!

It's my blog's birthday today! Yup, TriGirl is officially 2 years old!!


And so I thought I would celebrate by looking back at the important milestones.  To start with, here is the very first picture I ever drew for the blog.


In the second post, I introduced TriGuy (referred to only as "the husband" at the time).  Poor guy didn't get much hair or any attached limbs.  Not to mention, he didn't get a stitch of clothing.



Oh wait, there was a scarf and ski boots.



I seemed to frequently forget clothing in the early posts.


Guess my shirt fell off when I crashed.

And sometimes, my friends were missing clothes too.


She must've been going so fast her shirt blew right off.

At times, I had no pants.


I had more important things on my mind, (like figuring out how to pedal with no gears, chains, brakes and no revolving pedals).  Yes, this is in my header picture.  

Of course as time wore on and I got more practice, I tweaked the drawings.  I did eventually decide to learn how to draw a real bike.



As I began to become a more active blogger, I got to take my first big steps.  

I had a post featured on BlogHer.








I've done the blog awards, hopped around...in blog hops (Hey, toddlers need play dates!), done guest posts, and met lots of new friends!!   

Through blogging I've even learned more about swimming, biking, and running.  Imagine that!

And, I started a Zazzle shop, where you can buy shirts (YOU CAN CHOOSE THE STYLE, COLOUR AND SIZE), mugs, stickers, aprons, coasters, bumper stickers, binders, phone cases...and calendars.


Last year The Force was not very strong within me and I only sold one calendar.  Maybe it's more powerful this year?  You can click through the sidebar on the right, or just click here!

And now, I have a question for you all.  I've been thinking about my header, and whether I should upgrade to a newer drawing; one that's more representative of my current style.   I am partial to the one I have, but it is a little basic.

So do I go with 

Option A:  Retro/classic (albeit pantslesss) TriGirl

                        or

Option B:  Fancy-pantsied/updated TriGirl

I will tally up the votes, weigh the pros and cons carefully, and then potentially just make up my own mind :)

As I've said before, I'm so grateful for all your comments and support.  Blogging has been so much more than I thought it would be and I am looking forward to all the wonderful things the future will bring!


UPCOMING POSTS:  BLOGGER MEETUPS, TREADMILL RUNS


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