ass whooping go go juice

Just because I was on the bike at 4am on Wednesday didn't mean everything was going to naturally and easily fall into place in training land. Quite the contrary. Sure the ride went fine, but how can an endurance ride go that bad?

It was the pool that gave me issues Wednesday morning. I feel that I have been swimming well. We've made a lot of adjustments to the front end of my stroke and with my consistent kick I am feeling great.

On my way to the pool I realized I forgot my water, but Dr. Les always brings a huge thing of water, so I would just use his. Turns out, I learned, that it was not water.

"Asss whopping go go juice." He said to me as he handed it over. I took a sip. I don't know what it was. Some dilute form of Gatorade. It would do the trick and while I was feeling tired, maybe it'd fire me up!

Not so much.

I have swum so long however that I don't worry about these days. When I am just not hitting intervals and feeling a bit tired I focus on my stroke, and do the best I can. I won't sacrifice form for speed, I won't push through a feeling I can't control...... but after a while I began to suspect it was the go go juice that was making me feel so bad.

This is called displacement. Placing blame on something else and in my opinion ignoring the real issue. I was tired. OH NO! Stop the world! Call in the crisis team!

We can't freak out about one bad workout. It didn't mean much of anything except I had a bad workout. We have good days, we have bad days, We have success and we have failure. Just like any day, any week, any month, any life.

One thing that didn't change was my desire and my passion. Those are front and center and strong. And they will be through this 5K this weekend. Because this isn't quite a race, it is a test. I am looking for the starting point and I am looking for the wall of which I can push off of.

Because once again (I totally hijack this quote and then change it).......

Behind the athlete I am today and behind the coaches that pushed me, is a little girl who fell in love with this sport.

Today I play for her.

just the right amount

People incorrectly assume that I am the busiest woman on earth. But really.... I am not. The downtime far outweighs the on time, and that's the way I like it. Sure it sounds busy: Mom, Wife, Pediatric Emergency Nurse, Coach, Yoga Teacher, Student, Intern, athlete. It is a lot, but all together it adds up to forty hours a week. I just do a lot of things in small pieces.

It means I work a lot form home, I am home every night but one. I am home when Luc gets off the bus. I am home to put him to bed. Because really, home is where the heart is. Home is where the family is and home should be our haven. It certainly is mine.

That's why we actually do have time for the work that a puppy entails. I have to smile and laugh when my friend tells me to expect my dog to be a second child. I have actually had a child..... and this one can pee outside..... but will pee inside....... she will chew the living daylights out of something I love.

But I am not one to sweat the small stuff. I also have the good fortune to have a friend who is a lab expert, and she's showing me the way. Without her I would truly be lost, so thanks Wendy! And just like we are fumbling our way through parenthood..... we will fumble our way through dog parenthood. We are not control freaks like this one couple we have seen who are so control freakish co dependant that it is frightening. Eeks. Life doesn't have to be that way. Life can be so much more fun.

Things happen. We roll with those punches and we ride the waves. I am so glad we get to do it together. That's how it goes in our home..... togetherness is priority.

Someone is always home at our house, so being home for Cocoa isn't going to be a problem.

I think you just have to find a way to carve out your life so everything can happen. It took us a while to find the balance but we've found a wonderful balance. It's nights like tonight I love the best, me finishing a PowerPoint presentation while Luc and Curt build a Lego set at the same table. As I create slides I watch them laugh, bond, build, create. I smile as I feel the warmth they bring to my life each and every single day.

Sure things are busy, but I just don't let it get to me. Everything I do I have a passion for. It is a blessing really.

Training these days is going well. Just nice and steady and looks like this weekend I can head out for my first 5K running test. It is certain to hurt, it is certain to hurt a lot, but we have to have a starting point. It will establish paces and zones and then we will really begin. Bike testing is next week and then we are fully underway.

yoga yoga yoga!

It's my lifelong dream and wish to help people understand yoga. It's really not that hard and believe it or not it is so very little about a pose. It's so much about connecting the mind and the body, much like we do in training. It's really no different than swimming biking or running, in those times when your head is just silent, and you are moving from your heart.

What I see very often is this.... and as I articulate this..... see if you can grasp the feeling rather than the words...... someone new comes into class. They are first surprised about the heat. Then the class begins and they think: my butt is in the air.... it is too hot..... what did that teacher say.... what's this Darth Vader type breathing...... oh my GAWD I am sweating...... I don't get this........

That's a lot of mental traffic. That's a lot of resistance. That's a lot of resistance to giving up the control we all like to have over our lives. In the beginning it's normal, it's part of the process.

After a class or two you begin to think less and you begin to move more. You stop comparing yourself to the yoga stud in the room and you stop competing with the woman who is older/younger than you.

You start to notice that the mental hamster wheel that constantly spins in your head begins to slow down and if you are really lucky.... it even stops. Rather than trying to fight through poses, survive poses and even perhaps "win" the pose..... you start to relax into them. You realize that you are good at making things hard. And you are not good at letting things just happen.

Yoga has been around for hundreds of years and while there are several styles, schools, types of yoga.... the essence remains the same. The poses have not changed. It isn't like there are new yoga moves like there are bikes and helmets and swimsuits. That's not a coincidence either. Each asana or pose or series of poses is linked to a part of your mind, dare I say spirit. It awakens, brings to the surface and opens doors within you that you never realized you had closed.

DVD yoga is good, but you don't get the full effect, as you are trying to watch a screen while you are upside down. The teacher isn't there talking you through it or better yet giving you physical assists. Plus at home there is a phone, children, a pet, distractions.

So as you slide through your off-season I encourage you to be open minded and try something different. The first 3 classes are the worst. You are awkward, uncomfortable, uncoordinated. You begin to have feelings of this is not for me.... essentially you have already written the end of the story before it has even begun.

As an athlete my recommendation is the style of yoga that I practice and teach: Baptiste Vinsaysa..... find a studio near you by clicking here. (We do OM in the beginning of our practice, rather than laugh at it, find out the meaning.) I know many of the teachers throughout the country so I can certainly give some input if you need it, especially you Colorado folks! There are lots of other styles from Bikram to Gentle Hatha..... you have do explore and see what fits you.

So this year spread your wings a little bit. Get a little bit muddy, and embrace something new with an open mind. You never know what just might happen if you spread your wings. You just might be able to fly......

playing for her

There is a quote I think by Mia Hamm that says something to the effect of Behind the athlete that you are today, behind the coaches who push you.... is a little girl who fell in love with the game. Today... play for her. As I weathered the storm of 2008.... like so many of us have.... I have been getting to know that little girl again. The one who loves to run and swim and bike and be a little bit reckless with herself and her heart.

As 2009 is just a month away I feel it brimming with possibility and opportunity. This is the year. I can feel it. Throughout the past year and even past few seasons I have tasted disappointment and defeat more than I have tasted victory and success. Lots of things played into that. But for 2009 I have a clean slate.

I feel full of love and abundance. Love for a very wonderful life that is right now filled with laughter. Abundance not in terms of things.... but in terms of people. Our Triathlon team for example. A mix of positivity, possibility, ability and passion. This might be the most passionate group I have coached yet. For the record I say that every year and then every year the passion and the drive go even deeper.

'Round here the Christmas Tunes... (Carrols..... Caroles...... how am I doing professor?) are playing and I don't care if I hear Frost The Snowman eight hundred times. I only get to hear it for ninety days and I will not live in the box of "This is too much Christmas." like I see so many.

This week we will put that Christmas tree up and as Luc is 8 .... we've got the beautiful collection of handmade, homemade ornaments. And that is what a tree should have. I believe a Christmas Tree reflects you.

Growing up my mother had 2 trees. Her tree and ours. Her tree had a theme, ribbons on each branch, lace..... we considered it to be her tree to F**** up. Our tree..... represented our family. Picture ornaments of ourselves in kindergarten. My sister and I always play a game, I always put her picture on the back of the tree, and she will switch mine and hers. This goes on for weeks.

The Eggers' family tree has a little bit of everything, because that's what we are. A little bit of everything. Ornaments get hung wherever because some things in life don't need to have rules. The lights..... whatever we seem to be in the mood for.

What's important is that there is love in the air. There's magic as Luc focuses on the fireplace. There is hope for something bigger than us. There is abundance of family, friends, Christmas Cards arriving.... and this year I am even sending cards..... popcorn of all kinds, candy canes and stockings.

Man I love this time of year. Because whatever we are celebrating, whatever religion we all walk around with a bigger smile, a hop in our step and a lot more love.

Love is what makes the world go around. This year I have been able to unlock it with my full potential. Like opening the trap door and letting it all fall out. As I look at my guys I think..... how lucky I am.

As I hit the bike at early o'clock I will continue to be grateful for the ability, for the passion and for the dream. Sometimes you don't realize what you have until you have it physically threatened.

So that little girl within me that fell in love with this sport 10 years ago? I am on the bike for her this morning.

Giving Thanks

It's funny because if I posted a picture of my hair cut, you would wonder what has changed. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Two inches shorter but when you can still pull on your own hair when you reach your hand up your back, 2 inches isn't noticeable. It's healthier, and I don't know why it took 2 hours to cut, but I got to drink coffee.

I wake up this morning feeling pretty excited, which is odd because I am not spending Thanksgiving with the boys. As strange as that sounds, you have to realize that I am a nurse and even though I work 2 days a week, holidays come with that territory. I usually choose to work Thanksgiving because when the big family descends upon us all at Christmas I don't have to work. Besides after I get my Masters (2 years!) then I won't have to do any more holidays.

I send the boys out to my mother in laws a few hours away. She's in her eighties and she's alone and it is far more important that she have company. Besides I get to spend the day taking care of kids and that's a good Thanksgiving gift. Both to them and to myself. Besides every day is Thanksgiving with these guys.

And then I eat less too. Icing on the cake.

So I awake this morning with a sense of excitement and wonder. My first big race is now in April, which seems so close. I finally finalized my race schedule and I love the feeling of wonder. I've never been to New Orleans. I've never done a 24 hour triathlon. I've never felt so strong about opportunity and possibility as I do right now.

2008 had some good stuff in it, but it also had much heartbreak and just, strange things happen. I learn more form these kinds of seasons than I do from the really good ones. But it's been a bit since I have had a really good one, so I have to admit I am hungry for one.

So it is time to hit the bike here at early o'clock. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Mardi Gras

I have a habit of celebrating things late. My son was 14 days late (42 weeks of preggo=fun). My birthday is always celibrated late. I celebrate Spring Break in May in Panama City Beach and then usually again in the fall.

So why not celebrate Mardi Gras late?

Upon arriving home after a great morning at Masters.... meaning sprint day hurt a lot..... I looked over my schedule and prepared to have a session with my coach. I had been feeling that 3 half Ironman / 70.3 / whatever you want to call them these days..... races weren't enough to get my issues with this distance solved. I want four. I want four good and solid 70.3 performances. I looked at my schedule..... I didn't want one between Gulf Coast and Mussel. I didn't want one in August with the 24 hours of triathlon coming up. I wanted one earlier.

Realizing that Oceanside was filled up (I had my chance.... but the thought of going with Beth, Marit, Jen....... DARN!) I noticed New Orleans 70.3 was still open. Since my husband recently lost his mind in buying us a puppy and then signing up for Ironman Arizona 2009.... I thought it wise to take advantage of his complete insanity by running it by him.

He said sure and I hit submit. And North America Sports is once again a little bit richer.

Of course that meant an email to Kelly B., and then to Sarah. Because when I travel I like to bring friends. We are headed to the French Quarter and I hear that's a pretty neat place to go.

And of course there will be Waffle House.

Between now and then there is much work to be done. But knowing a 70.3 race is looming..... I will be on my trainer with a smile.

Now about that haircut..... it went magnificently. And yes it is true, I got to drink coffee while getting it cut!

I arrived a few minutes early and was escorted to a couch and given that magnificent cup of java. I liked it already at the Spa at the Delmonte. A few minutes after that a giant of a man, who looked more like a football player than a stylist, approached me and introduced himself as Angelo.

He brought me back to the chair and sat me down. The hair assessment began. He marveled at the health of my hair, and I told him I was in the pool 4 times a week. I am so used to people touching hair and gasping..... you must be a swimmer! But apparently my conditioner -in -the- hair-before -the- cap -goes- on- trick has done me wonders.

Angelo said the first thing he wanted to do was preserve the length. I then told him the rules for my hair: I don't care how long as long as I can put it in a ponytail.... I don't care what you do, what instruments you use, or what side you part it on. I told him that he knew what was best and to have fun with me.

He stood back very surprised. "Can all my clients be like you?" What can I say..... I am a dream girl. Just ask my husband.

For over 90 minutes I don't' know what he did. Used a razor, scissors, washed, conditioned, chatted. Then blew it dry. An inch shorter, a bit more lift I am told and voila....... better hair than what I went in with. A little hemp spray (Just wanted to say the word HEMP really) and I was on my way. With an appointment in 6 more weeks.

After i told Angelo that it had been 14 months since my last haircut, he put his scissors down and stood back. "We won't be doing that again." He said.

No sir, not with hands like that!!!!

pampered

I can't believe I am going to say this but I am about to spend a few hours at a spa. The Spa at the DelMonte to be exact. Now here is my confession..... I have not had a hair cut or even a trim since August 5th 2007. Yes that says 2007. I am about to go to hair confessional but I am told I can drink coffee while someone brushes my locks.

Sold!

No big dramatic changes, I know that will be what you wonder the most. A trim, a layer, a brush. Maybe they will even talk me into some product. Product? Product I am told, is the going word for gel mousse and hairspray. All I know is that while on my mat in 100 degrees tonight I do not want get running down my face.

As I am transitioning into becoming a dog owner..... now we don't have Cocoa just yet..... I am very lucky to have some amazing resources. My good friend Downtown Wendy Brown is a Lab expert, she shows hers and she's my mentor through this whole process.

I figured that the first thing we might need is a leash and a collar. Where else would I go to buy these items but my home away from home..... Breathe. Breathe? Yup, yes. They carry a brand called Om My Dog. Being the yogi that I am I thought it appropriate to begin Cocoa's life with the Eggers with good karma, or chi. That meant green and that meant the heart chakra. After all doesn't everything revolve around love?

So what happened to the name Spike????? Well, I caved, folded and crumbled. All the way to the breeder's house I announced over and over and over that this dog's name would be SPIKE. GIRL SPIKE. That would be the only name I allowed my canine to be called.

And then when I picked her up the name Cocoa came out.

It was a horribly embarrassing moment. I don't' often like to show my sensitive side.

So we continue to prepare, we continue to wait, we continue to plug away at the swim bike and run and at the same time relish in the excitement of our new arrival.