When did I……?

…..become a parent of a high schooler?

J’s first day at Santa Fe Catholic High School. This is a new school for him, so first day in another way as well. I am beyond nervous for him but he seems confident and ready for the new experience. Prayers, people….PRAYERS!! 

….become a parent of a 4th grader?

Aidan’s first day of school at St.Joseph Catholic School.  This is the first time Aidan has not gone to school with his brother.  He had mixed emotions…happy that he’s the only brother left at the school but sad that he’s the only brother at the school!!! 

….become a football parent AS WELL as a basketball parent?

J decided he wanted to try football this year.  I figure it can’t hurt…well…it CAN hurt really bad!!!  (He’s nursing a muscular injury now because of learning to tackle!  No practice today but back tomorrow…). But it can’t hurt because he is getting great conditioning for basketball and if he doesn’t like it, he gained some experience about another sport! Win WIN in my book! 

….have a child that wants to be a swimmer too??
Aidan spent a month with my sister in VA.  His cousins swim and he desperately wants to swim now! With a month there and swim camp for 6 weeks, we are in swim mode to try and get on a team (or so HE says!). He swims every Saturday at the Y and he loves it! We shall see….

….forget how to use a lock for a locker in school?

I’m totally aging myself here but I remember going “3 turns to the right, 2 turns to the left, 1 turn to the final number”. Over 20 minutes trying to open this damn thing….only to find out you don’t do this ANYMORE!!! Wha????? 

…..become the person that signs up for TWO races in one weekend!!

Yep…while J was figuring out his lock I was registering for the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend run.  I did the 10k last year and was all too excited when I received the email that sign up was August 9th at noon. You know what I did??? I signed up for the 5k AND 10k!!! It’s costly but I am going to run with some girlfriends from HS and plan on making it a girls weekend! All too excited!!  I need the motivation to get back and what a perfect way!

I am sure this school year will many more firsts, so maybe there will be more “When did I…..?“posts in the future!😉

How was your day??? Did anyone have some first day of school stories???

26

You know what time it is??? Triathlon Season! (Well….at least for me it is!). Sunday was my first race of the season

Maderia Beach Triathlon in (you guessed it) Maderia Beach, FL.  This is about 20 minutes outside of St.Peterburg.  I’d never been to this beach town, but that’s not surprising either!😂 #nolife

I was able to race with a few friends this time and we stayed on that end of town to get away from an early wake up AND a drive!!  Plus, we were able to get our race packets earlier and save that hassle and time of picking it up race morning! 

Why…THANK YOU!!!

We settled in at the hotel and decided to head to the hotel lobby bar for some Pre-Tri warm up and preparations…

I’m the Stella, by the way!

And we had an amazing sunset…

I love Florida sunsets!!

Hubs does a lot of work in Florida since he’s a General Contractor. He suggested Mario’s for us to try.   Mario’s is a cute little “Mom and Pop” Italian resturant with a wonderful menu.  I had the Baked Ziti- Ziti pasta mixed with marinara, ricotta and parmesean cheese and then baked.  It was so delicious! The only down side was I haven’t eaten cheese in a while and my stomach was like “WTF??”.  But it was worth it!! As usual, Hubs was SPOT ON with his food suggestion! Not only does he know how to build, but my man knows his food!! 

It was an early evening for us because we had an early wake up! But….let me tell you that on our way to our room, we got stuck in the elevator for 15 minutes.  I can check that off my list of “Things done during this lifetime“✔️

Wake up time was 4:40 am because we wanted to get parking and in the transition area without any issues. 

Hello,Moon!! Where’s you other half??

Just in case you wanted to know what’s going on here in the transition area:

• Bike is in the rack
• Helmet is out
• Cycling shoes and socks
• Running shoes
• Hat
• Race bib on race belt
• Towel to give some resemblance of drying off in between legs

It makes me ready!! 

…and Tracy,too! 

We walk down the beach to the swim start. It’s almost 1/2 mile, I would guess.  We see our other ladies and it’s game time! 7:00 am sharp start for the first wave (Elite and 19 and under participants). Two of our friends are in Wave 2 (7:03 am start) and Tracy and I are in Wave 3 (7:06 am start). Then the unimaginable happens! The announcer comes in the PA and announces that we have to move out cars because a certain grocery store (ahem..WINN DIXIE…ahem) was going to have our cars towed; even the Sheriff Office wasn’t going to be able to stop them. Really??? REALLY???!  We all had to move out cars and vie for limited spaces and get back the start in 30 minutes for the race start. What???? 

Swim 🏊🏽 .25 mile

The swim eventually started and all my blue cap-ers (40-49 AG)  went in the water. Let me say, the water was extremely choppy.  The swim to the first buoy was a challenge because I was swimming against the current. Eventually I was parallel to the shore but swimming as the current is crashing against you is not fun. Let me give you a visual- you know when you see surfers swimming out to catch a wave and as they are swimming, their bodies are being  pushed up and then crashing down a wave? That was ME! Another item of the life list! ✔️.  

Time: 11:09 

T1 – 2:12.2

Bike🚴🏽 10 miles

Let me say that this bike was the best ever! Why, you ask? I started out unlike my last two races…my tire wasn’t FLAT!!   So I started out great! 😂. But in all seriousness, this was a great course with two bridges (that weren’t as bad as I usually make them out to be!).  I felt good about this ride, which I never have!! But I am looking forward to more like it!

Time: 38:30

T2 – 1:46.1

Run 🏃🏽 3.1 miles 

This was the worst 5k ever! It was the slowest because the course was on the beach. There was packed sand but it wasn’t really low tide by the time I began running. I’m dodging the waves and eventually the uneven sand.  My IT band felt tight and I think my patellar tendinitis might act up again.   I shall say for this race, there were many walk breaks!  Beach racing is a deal breaker for me….won’t be doing this again!

Time: 46:43 (gag!!!)

Total Time – 1:40.26

All and all, I was pleased with this finish (despite the fact that my run was awful!).  This was my starting point, so I know what I have to work on for the next race.  I can do better!   
As I was getting my stuff together to go home, I looked down at my legs…

I figured it is a triathlon after all, you should have tri-colored legs, too,right? 😂. My next investment will be a tri kit with better coverage! 

My next race is June 4 in Clermont, FL.  Time to get moving, because hey…

#idroppedthemike

What did you do this weekend? 

RunGAB

I changed the name because I think there is something I’ve read before that uses “RunCHAT”. I can’t remember if it’s a blog…or a special hashtag..but after I wrote the post, I felt like I’ve heard it before. So before someone shouts “Hey…that’s MINE!!!”, I changed it!! Since I gab all the time…about ANYTHING…why not RunGAB?? So, I’ll keep it…unless y’all tell me it sucks!! 😂
If we were running today, I’d tell you….

…I FINALLY signed up for the triathlon! I’d also tell you I’m scared that I’m going to fail!! But…hey…I’ll be there!

….I am struggling to find a regular schedule that works for me for ANY type of training. You working folks out there understand, right? Now sprinkle in two active boys and now you see how I struggle even more!! Julian’s training days are Tuesday and Thursday. Aidan MAY be going back to Scouts this year. So…how do fit ME in?? Right now…I schedule on Sundays(for the week) but sometimes even that has to change!! It’s very frustrating! Ugh. I managed to squeeze in a little (VERY LITTLE) run in today…  

  1.33 is better than NO or ZERO.33, right? I continually remind myself of that. I still need to figure out the strength training…but I’m working on it!
….college football season is HERE!!! If you have been reading for a while, you will know that I am an alumni of The University of Florida! This time of year is the best! I don’t get to go to many games, but the TV at home will do! The first few games are usually not challenging, but we are in a rebuilding year…new players and new coach. Nonetheless….GO GATORS!!!   
  #iBLEEDorangeandblue

….my kids found my Junior High yearbook. Man…was that a blast from the past!! And in some ways…not so good!!  

   It DOES say ’86 because THAT’S when I was in 8th grade!!!😂  

What do you think about this? 

 Swim team….😂
Or how ’bout THIS….

 Cheerleading…😂😂. Just to
show you a few,so you can get a good laugh too!!
Let’s RunGAB next week!  

How was your Wednesday?

Finally!!!

For the past 10 days (-ish), we have had some HELL-A rain days here in the Sunshine State! I mean FLOODING with Noah and his Ark kind of rain!  Tuesday…we finally saw the sun again! It’s been nice to get back and feel normal again!!

Normalcy meant getting back to running outside in the DEATH HEAT!   I was able to swim on Wednesday:

• 200m warm up
• 100m breast stroke
• 100m freestyle kick
• 8-25m sprints at :60 (should have done :45)
• 100m butterfly kick
• 100m freestyle 

I was all to happy to finally get a swim in since my cancelled triathlon.  (I’m still kinda mad…but such as life!).  Since I’m eyeballing a race in September…I have to stay focused.

Today, my buddy Leslie and I were able to get a run in.  And man…was that a HOT MESS!! I was so angry with myself because I had to take some walk breaks (4 to be EXACT!!!) because of the heat.  Today, I felt like I couldn’t breathe!! I was fine for the first 1 mile and quarter, but man that heat smacked me dead in my face!!!  So…a little break here…a little break there…still pissed me off at the end!  Summer is always the time my running suffers, so I know that this is normal for me, but it still sucks!  I feel weak and out of shape, but I remain positive because I am a) doing more than anyone sitting still and b) I’m still under construction.   

I used this picture to say: STOP sabotaging yourself with negative thoughts! 

-AND-

You are under construction (still), so be PATIENT with yourself!

 How was your day??

Oh….I forgot….best news EVER! My FAVORITE running store is opening a location close to me!  Fitniche is coming to the Brandon/ Valrico area (for those in the Tampa Bay Area).  I ONLY buy my  running shoes (and gear) from them because they are :

• Always knowledgeable
• Prices are GREAT
• Selection is even BETTER
• Every person…literally EVERY PERSON, is beyond courteous! No matter if you are a seasoned runner, a recreational runner/ athlete (me), or a newbie- everyone is treated the same!!
• They have great run gatherings that get everyone together to run…all typesof people!

I am still partial to their Lakeland (FL- Polk County) location because I spend A LOT of time in Polk County and plan on a move there in about a year.  But I’m excited for the possibility of joining in on some group runs here at home in the mean time! 😉.  

 If you live in the area, look out for their opening some time in September! In know I will be there!!! 

Oh…and this is HILARIOUS: 

 #byeFELICIA #idroppedtheMIKE 

Finally…..

Yesterday, I was able to get a swim in…first time in a MONTH!! And good thing,…because I have a race in 2 weeks!!  It’s been difficult since the boys got out of school (in June) to find the time to get the swim in!! It’s no excuse, but timing is EVERYTHING!!  I was able to pick them up at 6 when they were at school (less than 5-7 minutes from the pool).  When they are in summer camp (20 minutes from the pool), I have to pick them up at 5:30.  It doesn’t make time for a swim. Honestly….I’ve been frustrated! But kids come first, right parents????

I swam about 1/2 mile which is close to (if not the actual) the swim distance in two weeks.   

 I am racing the Top Gun triathlon –

• 0.25 mile swim
• 10 mile bike (I SUCK at this!)
• 3.1 mile run

It’s possible….possible I might DIE because my only training has been running.  And it’s so damn hot, I wonder if I should even count my slow runs as “training”!!😉  

  Oh LORD!! I’m there….which means I’m doing it!! #yikes

After my swim, I was only able to get a “shorty” run… 

 Sad,really, but I stopped to talk to my friend and my run basically  got the “middle finger” because I didn’t finish!  😉

I’m nervous but I’m excited to get to it and get BACK to it!!! I can’t do any worse than my last one… 

 I had NO training for this one (July 2014).   I’m still waiting to see what my results would be if I TRAINED for it!! Someday…..😉

I have such RESPECT for all of the working parent athletes that can get the serious training in! I LONG to be that person and I hope it will be soon!! I always need a race to get me back on track and back to the reality that I need to put in more work….

Keep me in your thoughts….

How was your day?

  

 I LOVE this!!! #spartans
 

🔔DING….! Tapped in…..!

After “checking out” over the weekend, I tapped back in and got back to what I know…what I love…what keeps me sane…exercise.  Today was a pool day for my bud, Leslie and I.  Yeah…she still HATES me, but she keeps coming back for more! Outside of the triathlon training that I need, I like switching up from the running and giving my legs a wee break.  I haven’t been able to incorporate intervals into my running because of time.  I have managed to sneak in some intervals during my swim.  I am hoping that some endurance will show more during my runs now.  Not sure it’s the same, but I’m willing to try it out. 😃. 

Oh…you are going to ❤️LOVE❤️ this gem……I screwed up AGAIN!! My last post on my idiocy, well…I was right…the first time!! As I was typing my workout…it hit me!  Short course = meters; Long course = yards!  I’m not sure what made me think otherwise, and therefore prompted the correction post.  Scratch what I confused you with in that post; refer to the CORRECT distance as above! 😁You’d swear I wasn’t a swimmer…EVER!!  But I was, competitively for 5-6 YEARS!  (ie 30 years ago!!).  Excuse my confusion, folks! #imanIDIOT #parentswouldhide #inSHAME

Swim workout (Short Course) *meters, Angie*

• 200 m warm up – Freestyle
• 3 x 50m @ :60; 1 min rest; repeat (total of 3 sets)
• 100m warm up – freestyle/breaststroke mix 

Total = 750m 

I was happy to increase my distance AND keep my 50m consistantly below 40 seconds (specifically 38 seconds to be exact). #illtakeit

….but I still feel like an idiot!!! 😉

  #idroppedtheMIKE #truth 
How was your Monday?

Ever do/say something STOOPID on your blog? 

Really??????

So, I’m an idiot….. This is FULL DISCLOSURE people! I’m over the moon excited to be swimming again and I’ve been documenting my swims here at 3M.   Well, today, I went to the pool.. 

LONG COURSE!!! Oh…this brings back some awful summer time swims because I HATED long course!  Any way…here’s  where the “idiocy of Angie” comes in…for TWO weeks I have been documenting in meters and not in yards!!!   

 Short course = 25 YARDS (ie WHAT I have been swimming for like 2 weeks and documenting WRONG!)

 As seen above…. Long course = 50 METERS (ie What I swam TODAY and realized that like a dummy I’ve been documenting wrong!)

That’s was a big DUHHHHHHHH!!!  I’m a SWIMMER, but apparently the “MOM-nesia” kicked in at the wrong time and rendered me dumb!  There…..I said it…I feel better…and I have vowed to not let the Mom-nesia take over ANY MORE!! #whew

Swim today was a 600 meters of pure freestyle! I was in a serious time crunch today, so no time for intervals today. There’s always next time…..

  #WORD
How was your day? 

Cinco de Drinko (and some unfinished business)

….or more properly known as-            🇲🇽Cinco de Mayo🇲🇽.  I just like to call it that because it’s another excuse to have a cocktail during the week! 😉  Sadly, I am here at basketball practice and NO liquid libation is coming my way! 🍻😢 #storyofmyLIFE                                     

I was able to get a run in before getting the boys.  My running buddy (RB) Leslie had to work today.  

I FINALLY got a new Gator hat!!

                   Truth be told, I almost talked myself out of it.  We all know how easily we can do that to ourselves!  But there is something about having GOALS and a little WILLPOWER that holds you accountable and make makes you change your mindset!!  #runGIRL

Yesterday I finally got my BUTT in the pool! Triathlon season is in full swing and if I have ANY aspirations of doing well, I’ve got to get swimming.  I can’t seem to get to open swim in Valrico (where I live) because of….well….EVERYTHING.  What does a working mom DO that works 50 minutes from home? Swim close to work, of course!!!!😉. There is a pool about 15-20 minutes from work and literally down the street from Julian and Aidan’s school. PERFECT!!!  

Chain of Lakes Pool (Winter Haven,FL)

 The open swim was on $2 and it was well spent!! I only had 25 minutes because I got there a little later than I expected and needed to get going!       My workout:

• 200 m warm up Freestyle
• 100 m easy 
• 5 x 50m at :60 

That was all I had time for and I was pretty happy. Better than NOTHING, right?  I used to be a competitive swimmer, from 7th grade to 11th.  I think my triathlon love comes from the fact that I have “unfinished business” from my swimming days.  I stopped because I was burned out.  2 hour practices after-school and weekend (while friends get to hang out,etc), meets Saturday’s (while everyone sleeps in), smelling like chlorine ALL THE TIME….you get the picture.  But it was something that I LOVED and had some decent skills.  I got tired of working hard and hitting a plateau….so I stopped, much to the chagrin of my partners and coaches.  As adulthood set in and I started to feel like I had some “business” to finish.  Enter….TRIATHLONS…..I haven’t looked back. 

I hope you were able to enjoy your Cinco de Mayo… 

 #mayofunny