Tric 2008

A Thankful Heart

2008-11-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

There are many people in my life I am thankful for. To my friends and family...I love and appreciate you!

There is one person I did not have a picture of, and that is my teaching partner Meghan. We need to take care of that :) You are a joy and I love you too!

Party Like a Rock Star

2008-11-25T17:47:00.000-08:00

Can I just say that tri athletes SERIOUSLY know how to party!?! The Tri Fusion End of Season Party was awesome! After a few months of careful planning and hard work, it was so nice to see it all come together and go off without a hitch! Thanks again to everyone who helped make the night possible! It was a super fun way to end the season and celebrate the amazing year we had! Till next year...

Jen, me and Tiff

Natalie and me

Kim, Laura and I

Jessi and me

Me, Jessie, Timmers and Andy (and Squirt!)

Life...

2008-11-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

So...it has been quite awhile since I have blogged. Lets just say life has been a LITTLE stressful lately. And when life gets stressful, I tend to freak out. Thankfully, I have AMAZING friends who know just what to say to me to bring be back to reality. A little shout out to Jen, Natalie, Tiffany, Jessi, Kim, Meghan, Abi, Kya and Christina for being my support system. I love you girls and I promise I will settle down soon :)

One little girl who has helped to remind me of what is really important is my "niece" Delaney. She is my BFF's daughter and I am her "unofficial" FAVORITE auntie! (And we all know I LOVE to be the favorite!) I spent time with D last weekend and we had a little photo shoot. I am a firm believer in the self portrait picture, taken by one of the people in the picture. I love to do smiling pictures, followed by, obviously, silly face pictures. This is something I do with my students too, and let me just say that sometimes kids make the funniest faces!! I love it!

After I took a few pictures of us, Delaney decided that SHE wanted to take a self portrait picture. So, here it is...HILARIOUS! Short arms apparently make for an extreme close-up!

Delaney and I had a blast playing together! Let's just say that it was GOOD to laugh! I am so grateful for my fawesome friends and family! Life gets hectic sometimes, but it will always work itself out! Sometimes a little laughter is just what the doctor ordered.

Bear Lake Swim

2008-09-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday evening, Jessi, Roger, Steve and I headed to Bear Lake for an open water swim. Emma came along for the fun too! I don't have a wetsuit, so Kim was gracious enough to let me borrow hers! We got in a great workout, and of course had tons of fun! I even got to practice drafting after Jessi for about 15 seconds! It was awesome! After the swim, RT gave us some tips on running our bikes into transition with one hand (something we had just talked about at our Tri Fusion meeting). I am SO going to learn how to do this for next season! It will help take precious seconds off my transition times :) After the swim, we SURPRISINGLY ended up at Twigs for a majorly yummy meal! I had a great time friends! Can't wait to do it again ;)

Mead Class of '98

2008-08-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I attended my 10 year high school reunion. I can't believe it has been 10 years! It literally feels like only a year or two have gone by. Originally, I was not too sure about going to my reunion. In high school, believe it or not, I was pretty quiet and on the shy side. I went to Mead, which was totally clicky, and I pretty much stuck to my group of friends. Since there were over 550 people in my graduating class, I didn't even know everyone I graduated with. I was really nervous about going to the reunion, because most of my friends were not able to come home for the event. I wasn't sure who I would hang out with, and I HATE going places by myself, so I made my friend Josh go as my date. He was given specific instructions from his wife, who happens to be my BFF, not to ditch me!

So, the technical reunion was a fancy dinner at the Lincoln Center on Saturday night, but I couldn't go to that because I had a wedding. So I went to the bar reunion at Fizzie's on Friday night. It was AWESOME!! Josh and I had a total blast catching up with our former classmates. Here are my favorite parts of the evening, in no particular order:

* Having people remember me that I did not think would.

* Getting to see my first boyfriend (from 6th grade) and meeting his wife.

* Being told by numerous guys that they could not BELIEVE I wasn't married yet ;)

* Hearing a guy yell at the top of his lungs every 5 minutes, "WOOOOO! CLASS OF 98!"

* Getting free beer from the generous party-ers.

* Catching up with old friends, and hearing what they have been up to.

* Answering to Tricia all night (I haven't heard that in 10 years...besides from Roger of course!)

* Telling people I am a triathlete, and then having them respond with "no freakin' way!"

* Reminiscing about "the good old days" and telling funny stories from high school.

* Remembering that I have worked hard these past 8 months, and knowing that I looked GOOD at my reunion!

My reunion was seriously a stellar evening! I am so happy I went and I can't wait for my 20 year!

My Week at Camp

2008-08-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to spend a week as a counselor for a Senior High church camp on Twin Lakes in Idaho. It is a camp that I went to when I was little and have been a leader at for 10 summers. I hold this place near and dear to my heart. I love spending the week focusing on God and prayer in one of his most beautiful creations. It was an amazing week with good friends, awesome campers, and great memories! Here are some of my favorite parts...

Valley Girl 2008

2008-07-17T10:13:00.001-07:00

Almost exactly 1 year ago, I completed my first triathlon. It was Valley Girl 2007 and it was a total blast. I had trained for about 10 months with friends, and the race truly was the celebration of all I had accomplished during that time. The race was such a great experience that it led to me joining Tri Fusion and continuing to do races this year. Valley Girl 2008 was my 4th race this year, and my 5th race ever.

Since Valley Girl was the only race I did last year, it was obviously my "A" race for this year. It was the only race where I could truly show improvement and compare times. This being said, I was SOOOOO nervous for this race because I really, really wanted to improve my time from last year. Last year I swam to the best of my abilities, used my friend's husband's mountain bike, and walked the entire run course. This year, I have been really working on my swimming (it is my best of the three!), I got a speedy fast tri bike, I learned how to run, I completely changed my eating so I am now "fueling" my body correctly, and I have lost 40 pounds. In my heart, I knew I would do better than last year, but the question was how much.

Now flash to last Sunday at 7:45 a.m. I did not sleep great the night before, I had to get up at 4:30 a.m., my stomach was in total knots, and I thought I might throw up. Totally ready to race, right!?! My dear friends Christina, Jen, Laura, Rhonda and Ali were racing with me, and it was so nice to hang with them before the race started. This race was a little different than all of the others I have done this year because Jessi and Tiff weren't racing. These two ALWAYS help get me pumped for the race and offer me serious words of encouragement, so it was hard not having them there in the morning. But I knew they were coming to cheer and I would see them soon enough :) Luckily, Jen was there to mother me and calm me down! She is truly gifted at this! Here Jen and I are before the swim start, acting like we are totally ready to rock this race!
When the race started, Jen and I decided to go for it and start on the inside of the horse shoe. I was a little nervous we might get run over, but we thought we were hard core enough to start with the other serious swimmers. As soon as I started swimming, I was able to settle into my steady pace. My stroke felt strong, and I felt like I was cruising. As I turned to my right to breath, I saw Jen swimming right along side me. We stayed that way for almost the entire swim, and it was such a comfort to have her right at my side. We could have held hands if we wanted to :) When I came out of the water, I was surprised to see most green caps still swimming. Out of 65 girls in my swim heat, I was 13th out of the water! Really!?! I ended up beating my time from last year by 1 second, but the swim was actually 135 m longer. Not bad!

Next I headed to my bike. I hopped on with minimal effort, and started the bike course. Right away, I heard Roger in the mega phone, and I immediately started laughing. I knew it was him when he yelled, "Goooooooo Tricia!" I also heard Jessi, Tiff, Natalie, Greg, Phaedra, Steve and Emma yelling their little hearts out! Hearing my friends cheer for me is one of the best feelings in the entire world! It totally gave me a boost on the bike. It was also a wonderful surprise to hear Laura S., Kim and Joey cheering out on the bike course! It was so sweet of you guys to come out and you spread the cheer love throughout the ride :) Two of my goals on the bike were to stay in aero position as much as possible, and to stay at a steady pace on the flat parts. I worked hard on these goals and was pretty happy with the outcome. I shaved 12 minutes off my bike time from the year before! As I headed into T2, I heard Tiff in the mega phone and again it warmed my heart and got me ready for the run.

The second I started the run, my awesome race took a turn for the worst. I got a side ache on my right side. I tend to get side aches from time to time when I run and I am NOT great at pushing through them. But this was a race, so I was going to do my darnedest to finish strong. About halfway through the run, my side ache went away on my right and showed up on my left side. Are you kidding me!?! I could tell that I was dragging, but one of my run goals was to run the whole thing, so I decided to push it the best I could, knowing I would never regret it :) As I finally hit the park, nearing the end of my race, I was THRILLED to see Jen, Natalie, Tiffany and Laura running towards me! Natalie was even running in heels, and she totally looked like a supermodel! As I have said before, this is my ABSOLUTE favorite part of a race. They offered me much needed words of encouragement, a few laughs and some major motivation to finish strong. I pushed it to the end, and beat my run time from last year by 12 1/2 minutes.

I ended up shaving a total of 25 minutes off my time from my race last year! I was pretty stinkin' happy with that PR! My hard work really has paid off, and I can't wait to see how fast Trish 2009 can be!

Now, I have a few shout outs to take care of. First thanks to Tiffany for coming out to cheer for me and for stealing the bull horn from Roger so I could hear her voice when I needed it! You are SUCH an amazing friend who has been by my side through all of my transformations this year. You and I have both blown our old selves out of the water this year and I have loved going through the process with you and celebrating all of our successes together! I love you lady!

Next, thanks to RT, Jessi and Emma for coming out to cheer. You guys have been majorly busy moving, and I was very touched that you took a break from the madness to come and cheer at my race (on like 5 hours of sleep)! Rog, the mega phone was AWESOME and I appreciate every word of encouragement! It brought a smile to my face every time you cheered for Tricia :) And Jessi, thanks for taking pictures and for cheering me on. You have been a constant cheerleader for me over the past two years and I value your friendship beyond words. I love when I finish a race and I get to see your beautiful smile and get a famous Jessi hug and kiss and hear you tell me you are proud of me. It is the BEST! I love you guys lots and lots!

To Greg, Natalie and Steve (I think that is Steve's arm) thanks for coming out to cheer as well. I am always impressed when people come to a race, early in the morning just to cheer! Natalie, I was surprised and ecstatic to see you coming to run me in! Now that was sweet :) You have been such a supportive and dear friend to me and I love you to pieces! I have really enjoyed hanging out with all of you over the past few months, and you are wonderful friends!

Thanks to Phaedra for coming out to cheer and take pictures! Most of these pictures are courtesy of P and the one on my bike is phenomenal :) I totally heard you cheering lady, and it was AWESOME to get to see you in transition before the race. You are sneaky! Thanks again to Laura as well for coming to run me it! I was totally surprised to see you and I loved hanging out with you before the race! Ali and Rhonda rocked this race also, and it was so fun to race with my teammates. Loves to you friends!

A super special shout out to Jen and Christina, my racing buddies. Jen freakin' rocked this race! 5th in our age group...WHAT!?! I am so proud of you woman and continually surprised by how smoking fast you are! I loved that we got to race together, and this will go down as one of my favorite swims EVER! And Christina, I know you had a tough race, but you finished and you still had a smile on your face! Did you ever really think you would do a triathlon, let alone 2!?! You are amazing woman! I love you both girls!!

Finally, a HUGE thank you to my fabulous parents! They weren't sure if they were going to make it due to the heat, but they toughed it out and cheered their hearts out! You both have been so supportive of my triathlons and I think you are really starting to get into it :) I am so grateful you came and I LOVED seeing you at the finish line! You guys are terriffic and I love you times a million!

Ahhhh...Hawaii

2008-07-04T08:33:00.001-07:00

A few months ago, my wonderful friend Kya invited me to go to Maui with her and her husband and her husband's family. Since Kya would be spending a week in paradise with her in-laws, she wanted back up. So, I got to be the "bring-a-friend." It was AWESOME!! We planned the trip LONG before those pesky snow days, so I actually missed the last 2 days of school. I actually called my students on the last day of school and talked to them on speaker phone, and they LOVED it!

Here Kya and I are at the airport after just arriving. Note our lame pre-Hawaii tanning booth tans :) Also, note the straight hair. That's the last you will see of that for awhile!

Now, I spent the first 10 years of my life living in Californina, and it is pretty safe to say that I am a beach girl 100%! I absolutely LOVE the ocean and my favorite place in the whole wide world is the beach. So this trip to Hawaii was right up my alley! I also LOVE palm trees and it makes me SO happy when I see them! I am pretty sure I probably said the line "I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE IN HAWAII" in my sing-song voice at least 1 million times during my vacation. Kya loved it!

The best part about vacationing with Kya is that we are totally on the same page when it comes to how to spend our days. Here was our basic itinerary each day: wake up, (I chose to get up early and run 5K every day!), get ready for the beach, stop at Starbucks, lay out at the beach all morning reading our books, play in the water a little, eat lunch, lay out and play in the water some more, go home and get ready, eat dinner out, and do a little shopping. It was glorious!

This is a sign that was at a couple of the beaches we went to. We thought it was hilarious that it warns of the conditions during "winter months, Kona winds, and normal days." So Hawaii! Here are pictures of a few of the beaches we went to:

And no Hawaii re-cap would be complete without a beautiful sunset picture!

On our last day, we took a trip to the aquarium. It was an insanely windy day, as you can see. I had decided that it would have be a great idea to wear my cute mini-skirt, but thanks to the wind, I am pretty sure I flashed at least 10 people while at the aquarium! Oh well...it's Hawaii! Hang loose right!?!

Playing in the touching pool. I did NOT like when I touched things and they moved!

Kya and I goofing around with the submarine :)

Finally, here I am with Carl (Kya's husband) and Kya. These two are some of my best friends, and I had a BLAST with them on vacation! Thanks for the invite guys and we should TOTALLY do it again...minus the in-laws :) And can I just point out how freakin' TAN I look compared to Carl!?! Thanks for staying white buddy ;)

AM BLT + Swim = TONS O' FUN :)

2008-07-04T08:08:00.001-07:00

As you probably read on Tiffany's blog, last Tuesday Nat, Tiff, Katey, Christina and I got together for a little bike ride. (Well, actually Nat was doing a run, but she still came along for the fun!) We decided that with the extreme heat we are having, a morning ride sounded pretty sweet!

I decided that this would be the perfect time to figure out my new aero-bottle holster, after helping Tiff with hers during Blue Lake. Obviously, Nat is giving me some helpful tips right now :)

I brought my scissors in my purse, all ready to cut my straw, but we couldn't figure out where to cut it. Christina is giving me the whole "I have no freakin' idea where to cut it" look. Looks like I might need to seek guidance from a professional! Timmers, feel like helping me this weekend!?!

Finally, this is the set up we decided on for the ride, but after about 10 minutes of trying to figure this all out, I realize that I left my sponge at home. Dang it! Back to the regular waterbottle holder for me! Christina and I had a great ride, and although I hadn't rode my bike for 2 weeks, I felt pretty good about my ride. Christina and I have a system where one person gets to complain on the ride if they are tired and the other person is on encouragement patrol. This was my turn to complain, and Christina was awesome about pumping me up! Thanks friend!

After the bike ride, Nat, Tiff, Katey and I headed out to Bear Lake for a little open water swim. This was my first open water swim since Elma in May, so I was a little nervous. I also was the only one without a wetsuit, so that made me nervous too!

Check out all of my freckles! They tend to show up during the summer :)

Here Natalie and I are, getting into the water. It actually was a great temperature, and after a quick warm-up, I was good to go without a wetsuit. By the end of the workout, everyone else was actually HOT in their wetsuits!

After swimming the boey line a few times, Tiff asked me if I wanted to swim across the lake to the shed. She knows I can't say no to her, so of course I was up for the challenge! See the little tiny white shed all the way on the other side of the lake?? That is where we swam to!

Tiffany did AWESOME and I am so glad she gave me the challenge! She is an AMAZING friend and she knows just what to say to me to push me farther without pushing me too hard. Thanks for continually encouraging me to step up to the plate Tiff! You know I need it! You are wonderful and I love you for it!

Over all, it was an amazingly LONG, yet fun workout! I can't wait to do it again with these ladies! So much fun!!

Conquering the Death Hill

2008-06-04T19:56:00.001-07:00

So I have done the BLT with Tri Fusion about 7 times now. I would like to start by saying that the first time I did the 16 mile loop, I cried about 3 times. Jen was so good at encouraging me to keep going and calming me down. She always looks on the bright side of EVERYTHING! This is one of the many things I love about this girl :) Doesn't she just look so happy!?!

I would like to say that I have come a LONG way over the weeks, and now I really enjoy the loop...except for that pesky DEATH HILL. Here is my death hill progression over the first 6 weeks:

Weeks 1 &2 - Stopping at the bottom, not even attempting the hill, and walking my bike to the top. (This KILLS my calfs by the way because of the angle of my bike shoes...think walking up-hill in reverse heels.)

Weeks 3 & 4 - Riding about 1/4 of the way up, then stopping and walking my bike to the top. (Calfs still in major pain!)

Weeks 5 & 6 - Riding 1/2 way up, then stopping, taking off my shoes, and walking my bike to the top in my socks. (Calfs doing better!)

I think it is pretty safe to say that I HATE that death hill! So yesterday when Tiffany told me that it was my day to make it to the top (because Jessi and Tiff had talked it over and decided for me!), I looked at her and said, "Ya right!" It was pouring rain, I had had a long day, and it just wasn't going to happen. So Christina and I headed off on our ride, fully intending to walk up that pesky death hill. Here we are pre-ride :)

As I started riding, all I could think about was the stupid hill! It was totally mocking me and I felt like I should put it in its place today! However, my legs were so tired and I just wasn't feeling it! Oh, what to do! Now Christina and I have been friends for years and one of the things I love about her is that she always tells me what I want to hear. Here is how part of our conversation on the bike went:

Me: "Christina, I totally think I am going to try to make it up the death hill today!"
C: "You can totally do it Trish! You are so awesome!"

5 minutes later...

Me: "Christina, there is NO way I can make it up the hill! My legs are freaking KILLING me!"
C: "That hill is ridiculous! We can turn around before we even get there!"

5 minutes later...

Me: "But Tiff said that today was my day, so I am going to go for it!"
C: "You got it Trish! Piece of cake!"

We went back and forth like this the entire ride until we hit the bottom of the hill. At that moment, I felt like I had 4 options:

1. Turn around now! (Out of the question for Trish 2008!)
2. Walk up the hill and save my legs for the rest of the ride. (Tiff and Jessi would NEVER let me get away with this one!)
3. Ride up as far as possible, take off my shoes, and walk the rest of the way in my socks (but that meant my socks would be soaking wet, so that was out).
4. Go for it!

So, I went for it. I don't know what got into me. Maybe it was the rain...maybe it was the green apple gel I took before the ride...maybe it was my new Coach sunglasses that I wore by mistake...maybe it was Tiff's voice in my head telling me I would never regret it...who knows! I do know that Christina was adorable and cheered her heart out for me at the top of her lungs as she walked her bike up the hill! Now that is friendship! I thought I might die as I neared the top, but I freaking made it! Look how happy I was! This is our victory cheer! (Note that I am breaking out the old school "Yessssss!)

I want to give a shout out to Jay, who rode right next to me and made it to the top for the first time too! Man, what a great day! In your face death hill! Now does this mean that I have to make it to the top EVERY time I ride???

Iron Eagle Triathlon

2008-06-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

The Iron Eagle Triathlon was my third triathlon this season, and my fourth ever. For some strange reason, I was REALLY nervous for this one. (I think maybe it had to do with my crash at the last race.) So, I woke up early on Sunday morning to rain. Boo! Those of you who know me well know that I am not a huge fan of rain. (I hate when my hair gets wet!) Luckily, the temperature wasn't too cold, and I figured I would be wet after the pool anyway, so I sucked it up, picked up my friend Christina and headed to the race.

As I arrived at Eastern, I started seeing my teammates and my nervousness changed to excitement. I must say that I LOVE racing as part of Tri Fusion! My friends are so wonderful and encouraging and fun and hilarious and they always make me smile :) As soon as I got my Tri Fusion tats on (thanks Tim!), I was ready to race.

As I was waited for the swim to start, I made a mental note of my 3 goals for the race:

1) Complete the race in under 1:45:00.

2) Use my big chain ring when possible on the bike.

3) Run the whole run, EVEN on the hills.

Bonus goal: NO STITCHES!

My fabulous friend Christina came to cheer for me and count my laps. She is training for her first triathlon and I thought it would be good for her to watch a race before she did one. She was such a support to me during the race counting laps, taking pictures and cheering her little heart out! Thanks so much friend!

Okay, back to the race. The race has a pool swim (YESSSSS!) so we started in heats. Somehow all of the Tri Fusion peeps got to start in the same heat. It was really fun to see us all lined up and ready to go at the same time! We had to circle swim with 3 or 4 people in a lane, which is not ideal for me. I sometimes stress out when I circle swim because I worry too much about the people around me instead of focusing on my swim. I did pretty well though and when I got out of the pool, I noticed others will still swimming in my heat. Always a good sign :)

After the swim I headed out on the bike. It was POURING!! Now I know I said I would be wet from the swim anyway, but after the bike I was SOAKED! My legs felt good on the bike and I was able to actually pass people! That was my first time ever passing someone on the bike in a race and it was awesome! I had a really good ride and I rode the entire second half in my large chain ring! Goal #2 - check!

After the bike I dismounted in transition, felt a little wobbly, had to stop and get off the bike carefully, then started the run. The first little bit was pure mud, and I was a little nervous of slipping (and truthfully, of getting majorly dirty because I am not a fan of mud and I was in my brand new Tri Fusion race shirt!), but I took it slow and was able to pick up the pace when I hit the pavement. The run was hilly and it felt long to me, but I was able to run the entire time! Goal #3 -check! And I passed 3 people! WHAT!?!

Also, the highlight of my entire race was when Jessi, Tiffany, AND Tim came back to finish the run with me! I have to say that it was the most amazing feeling when I came over the top of the last sucky hill (and let me just say that I wanted to walk pretty badly!) and I saw my 3 amigos running towards me cheering their heads off! Jessi came back EVEN with battle wounds and Tiff came back EVEN with major blisters on her ankles. Now that is love! I also enjoyed the comic relief Tim added to the end of my run :) Thank so much friends!

I crossed the finish line feeling strong! I had some technical difficulties setting my watch when the race started, so I had no idea what my time was. But now the official results are out and my final time was 1:28:55! That means that I blew Goal #1 out of the water! And my SECRET time goal was actually 1:30:00, and I blew that out of the water too! I could not have been happier with my rainy day race :)

Shout out to Jen who completed her first race of the season after waiting for a knee injury to recover, and a shout out to Laura who completed her first triathlon EVER! These ladies did awesome and I am so proud of them!

And here I am with Tiffany and Jessi, my incredible teammates and friends! I have grown a lot closer to both of these ladies this year and I absolutely LOVE racing with them! These girls are phenomenal! After the race, a group of us headed over to Pita Pit for some post-race grub, conversation, and tons of laughter :) What a perfect ending to a fabulous race day! I think I might be liking racing more and more...

A Restored Faith in Humanity

2008-06-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was out running errands, and I had to stop to get gas. Let me just say that I HATE getting gas because filling my tank costs almost as much as 1/2 of a pair of designer jeans. I know, I know...that is ridiculous! So as I was filing my tank, I am thinking, "great...there goes the right leg of the new jeans I want!" Obviously my mind was wandering and I was not focusing on the task at hand. (You will see later why this was a problem.) When my tank was full, I printed my receipt, hopped in my car and drove off to finish my errands.

At the next stop, I got my wallet out to pay and noticed that my credit card was not in its designated home. Now those who know me well know that I am the type of person who keeps everything in the exact spot where it belongs at ALL times. So there was NO way that I had stuck my card somewhere else. I checked my purse anyway, and my car with no luck. Crap! Now I start panicing!

Are you kidding me that I lost my credit card at a gas station, of all places! That is about the easiest place to use a credit card that is not yours, so I was praying that whoever found it turned it in without running up the bill, but felt that my chances were pretty slim. I sped back to the station and searched the ground. No card! Double crap! So I went inside and asked the guy if anyone had turned in a credit card. To my surprise, he said YES! I could not believe that someone turned in my card! It was my lucky day for sure!

Will all of the identity theft going on these days, I want to give a shout out to the person who did the right thing and turned in my card! You helped restore my faith in humanity!

**Side note: I really DO think that most people out there are good people. But bottom line...when you lose your credit card you never know what will happen...

Back on the Bike!

2008-05-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight I rode a bike for the first time since my little accident. I was nervous, but my fellow tri-babe Kim invited me for a short loop and dinner at her house. Who can say no to that!?! For those of you who don't know, last summer Kim and I worked out together almost every day! We were basically inseperable, but this year our schedules have not matched up and we barely see each other. We FINALLY got to get out there and ride together, and for old times sake, we decided to take the mountain bikes! Whoo hoo!

Now I don't own a mountain bike, so Kim's husband graciously let me use his. It is actually the bike that I did Valley Girl on last year, so the bike and I go way back :) It felt SO different being on the mountain bike compared to my tri bike. We towed Kim's son Joey in the bike cart, so we got quite the workout! The best part of the ride was when Kim was pulling Joey up the biggest hill of the ride, her legs were killing her, and he kept yelling from the cart, "Mamma! I'm just SO hungry!" Apparently, Joey was ready to go home :) Dinner was delicious and the conversation was fantastic! Thanks Kim and Tom and Joey for a wonderful Wednesday night! I LOVE having dinner with the Montecuccos!

Never Before Seen Footage From the ER

2008-05-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

**I would like to start this post by saying, if you don't like blood, you may not want to look at what is coming!**

I had tons of people asking me more about my trip to the ER (which was only my second time there EVER), so I thought I would give you the full scoop on my stitches. Roger and I rolled into the ER at approximately 9:02 p.m. It was Saturday night, so we were fully expecting to see some wierdos there, but no such luck. I would like to note that Roger is an AMAZING friend to go to the ER with high-maintenance me on a Saturday night! There were probably about 1 million other things he would rather be doing, but he knew I needed support and he offered to come with me. THANK YOU SO MUCH ROG!!

After waiting for about 45 minutes, we finally got into a room. (Good thing we were on the "fast track.") Here is how my leg looked when they took off the bandages Roger put on at the race. Thank goodness Roger slathered on the Neosporin, because it kept the wound moist for the 9 HOURS between the accident and the stitches!

After waiting for FOREVER, they did the initial assessment of the damage, and it was clear I was going to need stitches. Roger reassured me that it was the right thing to do because he said shaving would be a huge pain if I had deep scars on my calf. At this point in the evening, I believed EVERY word Roger told me, so stitches it was! Next came the local, which consisted of I think 4 shots in the wound to numb it. I didn't cry, but I did have to do some deep breathing to get to my happy place. Roger informed me that he was not going to look either!

When it was all over, my wound was numb and I was much happier :) I appreciate Roger so much for chatting my ear off this whole time! I now know RT's entire LIFE story, so if there is ever a trivia game on random facts about Roger Thompson, I am SO money! He is such a great guy and he made me laugh so many times it was ALMOST fun to be at the ER!!

Next came the cleaning and the nurse scrubbed my leg like crazy! She did a really good job of getting all that stinkin' grease off! Apparently she used some cleaner that I had never heard of, but Roger had, so if you are looking for a good cleaner, ask Rog. It worked miracles on my leg! (I thought the dripping blood was a nice touch...)

After my leg was cleaned, we waited around for FOREVER again for the doctor to come in and stitch me up. Initially, he estimated 6 or 7 stitches. But I ended up with 11! One of my favorite memories from the evening was when the doc was giving me the lowdown on not working out with my wound. He said I would need to wait atleast a week, if not longer, to ride my bike. Rog was sitting behind the doctor shaking his head and mouthing the words "NO!! Two days!" Then the doctor said I would have to wait until the stitches were out to run again. Rog shook his head again and mouthed the words "NO!! Three days!" The doctor had no idea Roger was underminding his authority on the matter, and it was HILARIOUS! As I said earlier...at this point I believed every word Roger told me!

Finally, my leg was all patched up and ready to go! It only took 2 1/2 hours, and that was on the fast track! Roger and I were both yawning by the end and we were ready to go home for sure!

As we were leaving, the nurse offered me some cutting tools that she had used to cut my bandages and stuff, but I didn't need them because I already had a set from the last time I was in the ER (that is a WHOLE other story!). So I offered them to Rog and he was thrilled! He is going to use them for bike tools, of course! Who knew you could get parting gifts from the ER!?! Look how happy his face is :) Priceless!

Rog, one more shout out for hanging with me the whole time and making my visit to the ER a blast! I know we didn't have time to go over my life story, but I enjoyed every minute of yours :) Thanks for taking all of the killer pictures! I owe you big time friend, and as far as I am concerned, you are the sweetest guy in town! I mean 2 1/2 hours in the ER on a Saturday night, after driving for 6 hours, for some chick who isn't your wife...who does that!?!

*************

A side note: After telling my first grade students the story at school today, one of them raises their hand and says, "Miss Cudney, did you fall because you were riding without your training wheels?" Gotta LOVE first graders!

Mother's Day Triathlon

2008-05-11T21:04:00.001-07:00

Okay...okay...I got sucked back into the blogging world! I always knew I would at some point, but I felt like I needed a really great story in order to start blogging again. So here it is...

About a week or so ago I was eating lunch with Tiffany at school and she starts the conversation off with, "I have a proposition for you, and I don't want you to say no right now." Great! More and more I find conversations between Tiff and myself starting out this way. She proceeds to invite me on a road trip to do a triathlon in Elma, WA. Now, being still new to the sport, and being the planner I am, I had only 3 races on my schedule for this season. A race in Elma was NOT one of them. But after some coaxing from Tiff and Jessi, I agreed to sign up for the fun. Who could say no to a road trip with Roger, Jessi, Tiff and Steve!?!

So the trip started off on Friday after school with Tiff and I running to the store for some healthy snacks for the road trip, then heading over to the Thompson where we met up with everyone else. After loading up the Excursion with 5 bikes, one million bags, 3 pillows and some snacks, we were off! The bike rack on this rig was amazing!

The ride over was full of laughs, awesome music, jokes, stories and fun! The best part was watching "Wedding Crashers" and then running lines from the movie the entire weekend :) Our hotel was super plush and we crammed all 5 of us, 4 bikes, a roll-away bed and all of our gear, including Steve's, in 1 room. Can you say Tri Fusion slumber party!?! I acutally got an amazing nights sleep and woke for the race well rested and not too nervous. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at the hotel and each took turns discussing our 3 goals for the race that day. (Thanks to Jessi for that fun game!)

My three goals for the race were this:

1. Use my aero-bars the whole bike course.

2. Run ALL 3 miles of the run course (this would be a first for me)

3. Finish the race in under 1:45 (hopefully!)

Upon ariving at the race sight, my nerves started kicking in like crazy. We set up our transition area and tried to get everything in order.

A big thanks to Steve for pumping up my tires for me! What a gentleman! After getting transitions set up, it was time to get into our wetsuits. This was my first time swimming in a wetsuit and my second time ever BEING in a wetsuit. It was pretty hilarious watching everyone get theirs on :)

As we headed off to do our warm up swim, all I could think of when I looked at the lake was chocolate milk! For the record, I would like to point out that this time last year (we will call that portion of my life "Trish 2007") there was NO WAY I would get into a muddy lake to swim in sub 60 degree water temperatures! Remember, I didn't even like to get my hair OR face wet! But today I was ready for the race and jumped into the muddy water full force! The swim went really well for me and I think I swam the 250 m in right around 4 minutes! Yippee!

After the swim I ran over to transition to get onto the bike for my 13 mile ride. The ride started off great, but when I tried to change my bike computer from time to cadence, I reset the distance on accident! That meant that until I got to the 6.5 mile turnaround I would have NO idea how far I had gone! Are you kidding me!! The rest of the bike went well and I used my aero-bars the WHOLE time! I got to see Roger, Jessi, Steve and Tiff on the bike and we shouted encouragement and waved. I love seeing my friends out on the course, and this totally helped me along the way! As I finished up the bike, I was in good shape to meet my overall time goal as well. So far, so good...

After rolling into transition and dismounting off my bike, I started to "run" my bike back to its rack and my legs gave out! I fell on my bike and sliced it on my chain rink. I instantly got up and checked my leg. No blood yet (thank goodness because we all know I am a fainter!), so I should still run right? Trish 2007 would have quit right there, but Trish 2008 was going to give it all she had.

So I started off on the run, trying to meet my goal of running all 3 miles. About 1/4 mile into the run, I looked down to check my leg and I saw blood everywhere! Crap! I tried to calm myself down and focus on the goal, but about 1 minute later I saw my teammates running with Tiffany and I lost it! They all smiled and waved when they saw me, and I responded by screaming at the top of my lungs, "I'M BLEEDING!!" Tiff could sense I was freaking out, so she sent Jessi over to save me while Steve and Rog finished strong with Tiff. Thank you Tiff for sending Jessi when I needed her!

Jessi was an angel and she calmed me down right away. She is my coach and good friend, and knew just what to say to convince me to finish the race. Jessi and I ran all the way past the turnaround and along came the Excursion with Roger, Steve and Tiff. They offered me first aid, but I knew there was not way I would make my time goal if I took aid now. So I sucked it up to finish strong. Tiff jumped out and ran with me and Jessi til the end. I can not express what it meant to me to have teammates pull me through such a tough time. Trish 2007 was a total quitter, but Trish 2008 is trying to get over that. Jessi said, "You will NEVER regret finishing this race," and I believed her. Jessi and Tiffany were my saving grace, and I could not have finished without them! These girls are AMAZING! I am getting a little teary eyed just thinking about it! We crossed the finish line at 1:38:52, beating my time goal by 6 minutes! Whoo hoo!

After finishing the race, I immediately received first aid from Roger and Steve. These two guys took top-notch care of me and I will be forever grateful to them! Plus, having two hot guys tending to my every need is TOTALLY every female triathlete's dream! Thanks so much guys! According to Roger, you probably saved my life :) And a BIG shout out to Jen and her dad (pictured below) who came out to cheer us all on and take pictures! I love you friend!

After I was all bandaged up and ready to go, we went to the awards ceremony. Let's just say that Spokane cleaned up! Roger won overall, Jessi won for females, Steve placed 5th overall, and Tiff was 4th in age group and I was 6th in age group! My teammates had amazing races and I would like to give them props for their killer times! Each person worked hard to meet their goals and I could not be more proud of how they performed! I am constantly amazed at the athletic talent of my friends!

The trip home was just as fun as the trip over and we enjoyed EVERY minute of our time together! I feel so blessed to have been a part of such a memorable trip :) After arriving in the Thompson's driveway, Roger informed me that he and I were now on our way to the ER to get my leg stitched up! I was totally shocked and said, "But you said I was fine!" And Roger said, "Jessi said to lie to you until we got home so you wouldn't freak out!" I tell you...Jessi knows me SO well! So off Roger and I went to the ER and 2 1/2 hours and 11 stitches later, I was good to go!

All in all, I think we all followed Roger's favorite rule from Wedding crashers!

Thanks for a fantastic weekend friends! I can't WAIT to do it again! (Minus the whole stitches part of course!)