I survived my 1st semester working full time at ISU - 1/2 time teaching (anatomy&physiology lecture/labs and principles of fitness testing), and 1/2 time working in the lab. Both aspects of my job are awesome - teaching is fun and I like it because I have to learn the material more in-depth in order to teach it, and I like learning :)
Lab is great too- I LOVE working with athletes and administering some fun high-end fitness testing (ie VO2max tests, Exercise Metabolic rate/ fuel utilization tests, BODPOD, Resting Metabolic Rate, etc...) and creating some fun programs (BODY CHALLENGE) that get ISU students involved with exercise and becoming more health conscious, as well as getting the Exercise Science undergrad students more experience working with clients and in the field!
Dan and I bought a house!! A great townhouse by a little lake, but we had to redo ALL the floors (we, I mean DAN, put in laminate hardwood, no more sculptured carpet-gross) and repaint most of the walls (salmon, baby blue, and yellow aren't going to fly). After THAT was all done, now I'm finally digging into organizing and putting stuff INTO the rooms, and decorating them and making this place feel like home! a homeowners work never ends...there is always something to be improved. :) Wait til you see before and afters!
And we GOT MARRIED! ON New Years Eve!! It was FANTASTIC!!! It was the best party ever, and I'm not even just saying that because it was my own wedding (but I AM a little biased). The whole day and events leading up to it were amazing, it went by SO FAST...I can't believe that now I have my OWN wedding pictures, that I will show to my kids/grandkids/etc...
Check out the short FLIP video below that my amazing friend Margaret made for me leading up to the wedding (trial makeup run, day-before-wedding hot yoga and bridesmaid breakfast, rehearsal, rehearsal party, getting ready...)
and the link to my wedding photos!
My wedding was so FUN and unique!! My DJ was Jay Sims from Something2Dance2... my mom and I went to a Wedding Expo right after we finished an indoor tri and we were both wearing the finisher T-shirts...and this guy came up to us and starting talking about Tris, noticed my IM tattoo and said he was a triathlete and was signing up for Ironman Wisconsin...and then we found out he was a DJ! Needless to say, it definitely worked out... he was a GREAT MC, we were introduced with Coldplay and ran through a finish line...
Guests had to ride a bike for 1 minute to make us kiss...check out my mom (will do her first Half-Iron this year!) and Margaret (my super-fast friend!!)
of course I HAD to get on that thing!!
Tables were named after races we've done, we even had a "cheer" station...my mom found old race signs and markers and people wrote the funniest stuff and held them up every time we kissed! LOL!!!
before we did the garter/bouquet toss, we played a game called "feel the leg"...where dan was supposed to feel the legs of various women while blindfolded and hopefully guess which one belongs to me! Well we were fortunate to have some experienced triathletes in the house that shave their legs!! LOL!! Thanks to Kona-Chris!! :)
The new year has gotten off to a very busy start, as you can imagine! After the wedding, we went on our honeymoon to Sandals Antigua (AMAZING)...
got back Saturday 1/9, then I started teaching Monday 1/11!! I'm teaching A&P again this semester - 1 lecture and 4 labs, along with a Family Health & Wellness Class. That puts me at 75% teaching, and 50% ex phys lab....yes the math is right :) Work for this newbie is VERY busy! I love it, but it's very time-consuming :)
Notice how I have not mentioned anything about racing/triathlon...
Since 2003 when the tri-bug hit me, I've been NONSTOP focused and training. I did my first marathon in 2004, my first Ironman in 2005, and since then I've completed 6 more marathons and 6 more Ironman triathlons...and I am only 25 years old!! I NEVER took a break. At most, I took a 1-month "recovery" and then hit the road again hard. Sounds crazy, but then again, I had the TIME to do so....being a student you have a busy schedule, but if you were organized and efficient and got work done early (which I did)...there's PLENTY of time to train and race! And no bills....so the money I got my graduate assistantship went toward racing! Life was good!
Then all these really exciting things in my life happened, right after IM Canada, and I backed off on training bigtime. On average, I've been getting in 2-3 workouts a week for the last 4-5 months. 30 minutes a pop. I mean, I'm simply an "exercise enthusiast", if that! But step back...5 years, 2004-2010, with NO BREAK. I really needed this time off, mentally and physically. Tri was really starting to consume me, and I was starting to lose the big picture. I'm getting MARRIED, so what if I miss a workout?? I'm tearing up the floors in my NEW HOUSE...so what if I cut my run short b/c I'm tired? I think this long-term break was a good thing....I get to start fresh and really appreciate the sport and the lifestyle!
Well now life is great...but now I'm in the grown-up world and I have some things to learn. If I want to maintain my endurance athlete lifestyle- which I DO, since it's a HUGE part of who I am- I need to learn how to manage my time and PLAN workouts in detail - how long it's going to take, when I'll be able to fit them in, and back-up plans if necessary. Yes, that means I WILL have to get up at 5AM if I want to get a workout in a Tues/Thurs...especially when I supervise at 7AM, teach from 8AM-3PM, then clients come in around 3:30-5PM for 90-min appts....and then I need to go home and clean/work on a new house, play with my dog, grade/prepare for upcoming classes, pay bills, oh yeah, and eat?
I'm not feeling sorry for myself- I know everyone else in the grown-up world has lots of responsibilities as well...I can't even IMAGINE having kids in the mix!! I don't know HOW they manage endurance training along with the rest of the craziness...
2010 is going to be the year of finding balance- I'm not signed up for any Iron-distance race. I AM signed up for Triple T (stupid stupid STUPID!) .... and I will SUFFER. I did it last year and I was in decent shape and it was killer...oh my!
I'm also psyched about racing REV3 races...check out the link at the side of my page- these races are FUN, FAMILY-oriented and SUPER challenging!! I did the Quassy 1/2Iron last year.. o MY!!!!
Other races on the calendar include: River2River Relay, Evergreen Tri!!!, and maybe a marathon in the fall, we'll see.
I plan on having fun and enjoying the sport this year....TRAKKERS is pulling through BIGTIME this year, and I'm so psyched about the products that are supporting our team- I can't WAIT to tell you more about them when I get my hands on them!!! Check out the links to view their stuff yourself!!
Once I find the balance, I'll get back into competitive mode, and go after the sub-11 Ironman I WANT in the next season or 2. It's really hard talking about training with friends or joining group workouts when I'm nowhere NEAR the fitness level I used to be at. But I am starting from scratch, and I get to do it right this time :)
