Timing is Everything

At least for me it is, I like to have a general idea each day what I plan on getting day and what training is in store. Somebody has really thrown a wrench my way lately because I can't seem accomplish things I plan on.

I apparently wore myself out running 17 miles on Wed. last week that whatever bug my body was trying to fight won. I have been sick since Thursday and I'm not stuck with this horrible cough that without the aid of medication induces puking.

I did not get in my practice trial run doing all 3 this past weekend so I have not exactly practiced the transition from swim to bike, which is probably the biggest transition of them all. Great planning on my part to only attempt it once and leave it to the week before to do it.

Thanks to Sarah for texting me on Sunday and getting me out of the house, I managed to make it 10 miles with her and got in a great run. Looking forward to not hacking up some random stuff next time and hopefully my knee isn't cranky.

So I'm stressing out a little over here since this cough is lingering and my very first Sprint TRI is only 4 freaking days away!! I have had energy the last few days so that has helped me but I've heard rumors from people they got this and their cough lasted weeks....WEEKS? ugghhhhh...guess I just have to live with this.

I decided to check out the race details again today so I can start to get my plan of attack together for the weekend, I stumbled upon the fact that the youth race starts at 8:15am with the Short and Long (which I'm doing) Courses will be starting at 9am. All fine and dandy normally at this time of year but it's been ridiculously warm. So I checked out the weather and it's supposed to be partly sunny with a high of 89. AWESOME!! At least it's better than the scattered thunderstorms when I looked earlier this week. Looks like I'll be baking in the sun by the time I finish this thing, thinking i need to find some spray sunscreen to apply in transition.

So at this point I am really just flying by the seat of my pants and taking what is thrown at me and I'm hoping that I'm able to finish this TRI, not drown, and with a somewhat respectable time. I like they cap it at 225 participants for each course and in the past it's been up to about 350 overall so it shouldn't be too busy in the water or other parts of the course.

To this cold...I will kick you in the nuts!

Hope everyone's weeks are going fabulously well.

Motivation

Who/what motivates you? I've been reflecting these past few weeks about how far I have come. I started out my journey 4 years ago after meeting the man I will be marrying in 2 short months. This person came into my life and inspired me to shoot for the moon, challenge myself and change things in my life without fear.

4 years ago I was miserable about how I let myself go and let stress & fear consume me. I was so afraid to say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing that I could not just be myself alot of the time, at least without the help of a little alcohol. With a little motivation, I began a journey to improve myself and my body. I began to pay more attention to what I was eating and began the Couch to 5K program. I was never a runner in my life and this seemed like a very daunting task, but she assured me that I could do it and I trusted in her wisdom...and sure enough 3 months later I ran my very first 5K race without having to stop and walk and caught the runners high.

The next year I tackled a 10K, the year after that the half marathon and this year I am attempting my very first Sprint Triathlon (only 8 days away...eek).

Yesterday I witnessed the most incredible feat and will never forget the feeling of pushing yourself to do something unimaginable with courage. Kim and Rachel completed a 16 hour relay raising money for Alzheimer's. Every hour they traded off running circles around the track.


Can you imagine going in circles all day around a track...insane right?

After watching this take place yesterday this doesn't even seem crazy at all. These ladies both inspire me to push beyond mental boundaries and challenge yourself no matter what you are facing. No matter what your life is like, there will always be a struggle and you just need to tackle it head on.

I just want to say THANK YOU to Kim for getting me going and keep doing what you do. You are only making those around you inspired.

I want to be able to pass their motivation forward and help others. I have had the opportunity to run with others and help them try to achieve their goal during a race. I really feel that is my key because I completely focus on them, I can really struggle mentally during races and this allows me to free that demon and I enjoy helping others achieve their goals. This was my role yesterday as I jumped in anytime I could to run with Kim or Rachel when they were on their own. I tried to keep them company while running in circles and keep them distracted at times. In doing so I myself managed to run/walk farther than I ever have before and completed 17.63 miles around the track.

My title has now become...The Motivating Bitch...so if you want someone to push you I will gladly step right up.

Do you have someone in your life that inspires you?

What keeps you to constantly push yourself for growth?

It's my turn, really?? REALLY!

So this pretty much sums up my feelings right now. Tomorrow is going to be the biggest day of my life...at least for the next 2 months. Tomorrow is my Briday Shower, which starts at 3:30 in an awesome bonus room at a bar. We are following that up with my Bachelorette Party and hitting up Waupaca, which is my second home during the summer.

I come from a very large family, my dad has 6 sisters and 5 brothers and my mom has 6 sisters (2 of which have passed away) and 2 brothers. So you can just imagine how big that ends up getting once you count their spouses and their kids, most of which had 2 to 4 kids themselves. I am about in the middle when it comes to ages so I've been to about 15 of my cousins weddings and since I'm 29 I've attended most of my friends weddings already too. Since the shower is less than 24 hours away and receiving a few shower gifts via the mail ...Love when random presents show up at my door...it really is starting to sink in.

According to my counter the BIG DAY is 70 Days away. I have meetings schedule in the next two weeks with all of the vendors (Reception w/ taste test, officiant, florist, cake baker). We have to contact the DJ to book an appointment yet but I'm sure that will fall soon too. I am also making my own printing & sprucing ready made invitations and I think I have everything ready with the exception of the reply card. I want to have people rsvp on our wedding website and I'm looking for a quirky way to say "help us save postage cause it's expense" 'cause that wouldn't go over very well. Any ideas??  I am basically going to make the reply card all the same and include postage on my grandma's and the older generations. Anybody else if they want to can actually use the reply card if they can put their own postage on it.

Here is to having a fabulous day tomorrow and just enjoying it, I know it will fly by and the wedding day will be here before I know it.