Race Week?!?!

And just like that, vacation over and it's race week!  I signed up for CB&I Triathlon this year, a sprint tri in The Woodlands.  I've volunteered the past few years and am finally getting to do this hometown race!  #157 will be taking to the glorious waves of Lake Woodlands around 7:30am on Saturday morning. I  just picked up my packet and realized they gave me a mens shirt! Sons of b's!  I'm hoping they will let me trade it at another packet pickup location.  We'll see!

So what's new you ask?  Wellllllll.  I'm back from Disney World and had an amazing time with my sisters, niece & nephew!!!  What a great, great trip.  I swear, if I had kids, we would go twice a year.  If they allowed dogs in the park, I would take Leia.  No, I'm not kidding you.  Why shouldn't my furry, 4-legged friend get to experience the happiest place on Earth?  Exactly!

After a great dinner at Chef Mickey's!

Getting ready for fun at Hollywood Studios!

I was sick for my vacation thanks to a germ infested person at work who shall remain nameless.  :)  I'm finally kicking this funky stuff and just in time...as I mentioned, it is race week!!!!  So this past Sunday was our March of Dimes walk.  Money is still coming in but so far, my team has raised nearly $5,500!!!!! That is the most I've ever raised and I couldn't be more excited.  As you all know, MoD is near & dear to my heart given Cristian's early arrival 5 years ago.  Thank you MoD!  We had a face painter at out tent again and for the first time, I got my face painted.  I asked for something simple yet elegant.  :)

Yes, I am turning 38 this year.  So???

So there you have it....a really quick update!  I'll post one more time before the race this weekend so stay tuned.  Oh, I almost forgot...I was rejected from the NYC Marathon for the 3rd time.  I wish I could say I was sad but I'm not b/c all this means is that I'm guaranteed for next year.  YIPPPPPEEEE SKIPPPPPPEEEEE!


With that, I'm off like a cheap dress on prom night.  :)

The Slacker is Back!

I know, I know, I know.  I've been a slacker.  I won't bore you with the excuses though.  :)   When I'm training for something BIG, I know I'll be on here more.  The good news is that in just a few weeks, we'll know what that something BIG is.  More on that later. 


Ok, I'm not going to try to recount everything missed since my last blog entry so let me summarize the high points.  ;)

• My angel of a niece turned 1 in February!  Oh my goodness.  A year has gone by?  How?  Avery has a funny little personality without a doubt.  I'm so excited to see how she continues to change. Lucky for me, I will get 5 days straight with my niece (and nephew) as I'm getting ready to go on vacation with all 3 of my sisters and those two little angels!  Woo hoo!!!!!
• Keith's grandbaby, Addison, also turned 1....a short month after Avery.  We were lucky enough to have Mike, Heather & Addie in town for her bday.  It never feels like enough time with them but you take what you can get!  Addie is absolutely adorable.  She LOVES her mommy & daddy and definitely prefer them to pretty much everyone.  :)  Keith & I are planning our next visit to Chicago to see them all.  
• Luke & I signed up for Angie's Half Crazy Half Marathon.  The original plan was for Luke to PR and get a time in the 1:30 range.  I didn't necessarily have a goal as I signed up on a whim at the last minute.  Well, my "goal" was to do my 10th half-marathon.  The day before the race, Luke & I hatched a plan to just not give a crap about the race (for some legit reasons) and go out for drinks and just have fun.  Well, let me say that we achieved our new goals VERY well!  We've decided that from this point forward, one race a year (at least) will be dedicated to fun and not a care in the world to results.  That gasping noise you hear right now is probably from my coach. :)
• Sophie has been going to A&M every 6 weeks due to her illness from last year. At the most recent visit, we got the news that she's pretty much stable (finally) and they don't need to see us for 8 weeks!  YAYYYYYY!
• Keith started riding bicycles about 9 months ago and has had the goal to ride 100 miles in one day (century ride).  Well, Keith achieved his goal yesterday!  My absolutely AWESOME training group organized the "GOT 112?" ride, a community ride on the Ironman Texas course.  Keith rode a century + 12!  Let me tell you, the conditions out there were B-R-U-T-A-L.  Winds were 20+ mph pretty much all day.  We heard rider after rider say they would take hills over wind any day of the week.  A to the MEN.  Regardless, Keith hung in there and biked the entire Ironman Texas bike course!!!!!  Now, I was hoping that achieving this goal would make him realize he too could be an Ironman but it hasn't.  In fact, he told me that anyone who runs 26.2 miles after riding 112 is a complete psycho.  Hi, have we met?  I'm psycho.  :)

Addison Irene!

Avery Elizabeth :)

Hannah Taylor - My SAG partner!

Me & Luke post- Angie's Half Crazy Half (Ass) Marathon

My baby towards the end of his 1st Century+ Ride

Exhibit A

Ok, so those are the bulleted high points.  Let me get back to the experience yesterday though.  I'm sure more than a few of you would've guessed the next story would be here in the blog.  Hannah & I volunteered at the ride yesterday.  In the morning we were responsible for going to the riders and giving them important info for the day as well as maps.  Most riders were taking off between 6:50 - 7:00am.  Being the AWESOME volunteers we are, Hannah & I noticed a small group of more "mature" ladies had arrived and were still prepping for the ride.  I would say 99% of the riders were gone and they were the 1% who remained.  Hannah & I were decked out in ORR (Outrival Racing) gear.  We walked over, greeted them and began our speech.  One of the ladies looked at me and said, "Oooooooh, can I see your skirt?  We have the same thighs."  Now, I was taken aback by this b/c I've never had someone say we had the same thighs. I mean, I've heard people comment on my curls before but that's about it.  Thighs?  I looked at this woman and immediately thought, "Please tell me my thighs don't look like that".  I felt bad thinking this but hey, she is the one who drew attention to them (and mine as well).  As she's comparing our thighs (very loudly) she walks over to me and LIFTS UP MY RUNNING SKIRT.  Yes, the skirt does have attached shorts but they are mesh, short and somewhat see through in the right light.  She then pulled on the mesh shorts and asked me if they stayed put or if they rode up.  She asked if they chafed.  As she asked this, she was rubbing her inner thighs, squatting and making a really gross face.  I just thank 8lb 6oz baby Jesus that she didn't rub my inner thighs or she probably wouldn't have made it on the ride.  I handled myself very well mainly b/c I was wearing ORR gear and did not want to embarrass my team.  I smiled, told her the skirt was Athleta and worked really well for walking around and shorter distance running but not as well for 10 or more miles.  We walked away, still smiling and Hannah looked at me and said, "Jenny, you do NOT have her thighs".  Thank you Hannah!  I tried to pretend it didn't bother me but you know what, it did.  I am VERY self-conscious of my thighs.  I have never been skinny (except when I starved myself after breakups).  In high school, I always was told I was "thick" but was always assured that was a compliment.  I don't look as good in my triathlon shorts as others do but I've accepted it.  Obviously my thighs were a topic of conversation most of the day yesterday and I even took pictures of them.  I think I'll probably post the pics on my mirror as motivation.  I got on Google last night to look for quick ways to make your thighs more muscular. I'm fairly confident the lady didn't mean to insult me or anything and I'm kind of embarrassed that at 37 years old, something like this still gets to me but hey, I'm human and I'm still female even if I am older and know better!  So what does this mean?  Well, it means that anyone around me is going to hear me make cracks about my thick, ample, thunderous thighs for the next several weeks.  It means that in every workout, I'm going to ask my thighs (very nicely) to please tone up faster.  It means that I'm going to buy Suzanne Sommers book b/c she loved the Thigh Master and I must too.  :)  All joking aside, this just motivates me to work a little harder.  I will never have long, lean legs and I really do think I'm ok with that (mainly b/c I have no choice). I will just use this for motivation in my workouts.  The chant of yesteryear was "I must, I must, I must increase my bust" (and that worked out quite well for me).  My new mantra will be, "I'll try, I'll try, I'll try to reduce my thigh"!  

Exhibit B

Ok, so on to the something BIG on the horizon.  I will find out in just a couple of weeks if I have made it into the NYC Marathon!!!!  I'm so excited!!! I have entered the lottery for years and really want this to be my first marathon (1st stand alone marathon).  Either way, I need to know if I'm in or not so I can plan the rest of my race season.  Right now, I have a bunch of sprints on my schedule and am holding out until I know more.  Wish me luck!!!!  And wish for smaller thighs.  :)



Talk soon!!!

Racing, Modern Family & The Bachelor.....3 things that have SO much in common.

Keep reading & this too shall make sense.

I’m typically a good blogger but I’ve found that when I’m not training for anything “big”, I tend to slack a smidge.  I feel like I need to give myself a little break though.  As I’ve mentioned before, I have a new role at work and from November – early February, I was doing two jobs. 

So I didn’t do a race report for The Woodlands Half.  While I met the goal of beating my Houston 2012 time, I didn’t beat it by as much as I should’ve…still a victory just not as sweet of a victory.  NBD, I was still happy.    You’ve run a certain time at a certain distance in the past and can’t get back there.  To those outside the tri/running world, who cares about time?  To those in that world, there is so much more focus on improving and getting faster and getting better.  We’re a bunch of A type personalities!  I like to see improvement.  I WANT to see improvement.  I just have to remind myself (more often than I care to admit) that I AM seeing progress from where I was this time last year.  No, I’m not running like I was in 2008 but I’m not the same person or the same runner I was in 2008.  I have no doubt I will see a 2:10 half marathon again and am still holding out hope I will be faster if even by a small amount.  So there you have it, a half-ass half-marathon report!

So what else has been going on?  I’ve officially signed up for 3 sprint distance tris….May, June & July thank you very much!  My training is moving back to a tri focus so I’m running a little less (or at least it feels that way) and getting back in the pool more and on the bike more.  I had the “pleasure” of swimming next to a real d-bag the other day.  I hadn’t been in the pool in a little bit as my work schedule was nuts and Ana was kind to me and had me focusing on running.  I was a little rusty I guess.  The first few hundred felt like I was swimming through a vat of Jell-O or sludge or something other than water.   I felt slow but when I started swimming my main set, I saw I wasn’t that far off my normal splits.  Not bad.  As I finished my workout, I sat in the water at the end of the pool when Aqua Man (I will call him this b/c he clearly thought he was pretty awesome and did appear to be a good swimmer) looked over at me and asked me if I was an “aspiring triathlete” with a bit of a snicker.  I thought for a moment and responded with, “actually, I’ve already done an Ironman”.  Aqua Man chuckled what I still believe was a very condescending chuckle and said, “well, I should’ve asked if you were an aspiring swimmer”.  I looked at him, sneered and then got out and dried my butt off with my awesome Ironman towel.  I thought about this the rest of the day and even tried to convince myself I was over-reacting but I’ve been assured by EVERYONE I’ve told this story to that Aqua Man was in fact being an ass.  Good to know.  Aqua D-Bag Man.  It is now my mission to go to the pool every single Saturday at 6am until I run into him again.  I don’t know what I’ll do or say but I’m sure it will be awesome.  Maybe I’ll wear my Wonder Woman swimsuit and ask him if he’s an aspiring d-bag and then say, “oh never mind, I can see you’ve already accomplished that feat”.  

I’ve been in rare form this week thanks to something I won’t get into here as I know my male audience will never forgive me. I think it’s safe to share that Keith watched Modern Family and now thinks it’s funny to ask me if I’m MONSTERating vs menstruating.  I think he wants to die. I love Modern Family, don’t get me wrong, but I think they are sending a very dangerous message to men.  If you live in Texas, you really don’t know if your wife/girlfriend/significant other is packing heat so to repeatedly bring up MONSTERating is a whole lot like playing Russian roulette. 

I used to write a Bachelor recap but haven’t done it in a few seasons as I just found I didn’t have the time anymore but more importantly, because the women were getting so ridiculous.  Well, I really should’ve watched this season b/c I feel like I would’ve had so much awesome material to pull from.  I watched a couple of episodes and just shook my head over & over.  First of all, Ben was a terrible Bachelor.  Unattractive, boring, unattractive, stupid, need I go on?  Overall, I didn’t find the girls to be super attractive.  They were all skinny & tan which for Ben, was clearly enough.   There were a few who seemed somewhat intelligent and “normal” but the rest….not so much.  So we all know Ben picked the swimsuit (or whatever type of model she is) model, Courtney.  I’m sure him skinny dipping with her had absolutely no influence whatsoever on him.  I’m not going to bash this girl b/c Lord knows it’s been done enough BUT….she was terrible.  From the way she talked to the way she behaved.  Yuck.  I am certain her family is embarrassed.  And while she appears to feel sorry for how she behaved, we all know she is just sorry that everyone else saw her for what she really is…..a hungry model who just needs to eat and everything will be ok.  So that’s my half-ass Bachelor recap.

Since this blog is about training, let me tell you I’m excited for the rest of my workouts this week!  A couple of runs, some more time on the bike, another trip to the pool.  It’s going to be fun as long as the weather holds out!  I hope all of you are having a great week and I’ll be back to blog about my (mis)adventures soon!

So much going on!

I meant to write last week after my race but just got so busy, I completely forgot to sit down to blog.  Now that a week has flown by, I don't feel like typing a race report.  I do have a few things to share about the race though.  (1) Next time I want chocolate after a run, I'll buy it instead of sign up for some poorly organized nightmare.  (2)  I continue to make solid progress with my running and had a really good 1st 15k.  Yay!  (3)  I love my Athleta running skirt so much, I ordered another one in purple b/c the ORR inspired one was so fun!  

Post race, still happy!

While we're on the topic of racing, my next race is in just a couple of weeks and I'm super excited!  For months I was really hoping this would be the race where I break my half-marathon PR but that's likely not going to be the case.  Before any of you start thinking I'm being negative, that's not it all.  There just comes a time where you have to be realistic about where you are.  Don't get me wrong, I'm super focused on having the best race I possibly can and I'm looking forward to it like crazy.  I have come such a long way since the Houston Half in 2011 and have just bee making steady progress.  I'm definitely on track to do better than Houston Half 2012 and that's a big deal.  I have such high expectations of myself, as do most folks I train with, that it can be hard not to have the same success every time you race.  You just have to put it in perspective and race with your heart, not your head.  That's what I did at the Hot Chocolate Run.  I didn't let the chaos from the morning get to me.  As soon as the starting gun went off, I just ran.  More than once I thought about how lucky I was to be able to wake up and go outside and just run with 10,000 of my closest friends.  How cool is that?  I was so pleased when I crossed the finish line.  So many times lately I've crossed the finish line and within a few minutes, started dissecting my race and focusing on what I should've done better and what I didn't do right.  Last week I crossed and smiled and kept smiling.  Instead of dwelling on the fact that I didn't hit some made up number in my head, I kept thinking about where I was 6 months ago and where I am today.  What a great feeling!!!!  


In other news, my sweet little niece turned 1!!!!  Oh my gosh, I can't believe it.  It's hard to believe a year has already gone by.  She has changed so much yet still has the same huge smile she had from when she was a newborn.  The girl came out smiley and really hasn't stopped.  I couldn't believe that the little girl who just learned to crawl a few months ago was walking around the house yesterday.  Yep, she prefers walking to crawling without a doubt and I now know without a doubt that she is a future triathlete.  :)  Happy Birthday Avery cakes!  Auntie Jenny loves you!

Check this little cutie out.  LOVE her!

With Avery turning 1, that means Addie is next!  Keith's first grandchild will celebrate her 1st bday here in Texas with us and we couldn't be more excited!!!  We know we won't get to spend every Birthday with her so it's awesome that the 1st one will be in our own backyard...literally!  The party will be at Keith's and we get to help cook, decorate and everything.  Keith is sooooo excited she'll be here for her bday and I can't wait to celebrate with him (and everyone else). 


Well, I think that's about it.  Happy Sunday and have an awesome week ahead!

Sometimes, you've just got to blog it.

I wasn't planning for a blog post tonight but had a couple things on my mind so thought I should sit down and type away.  


My mom posted on FaceBook this morning that she was remembering the sweetest man she knew, her Dad and my Papa as today is his birthday....was his birthday.  I'm never sure what to say when someone has passed.  Grandpa Cerami died 27 years ago come this June.  27 years?  That's basically a whole lifetime.  It made me so sad to think about it though b/c I remember the day like it was yesterday.  We were living in Union City, California on Joyce Way (I think that's the street name).  Doug was a toddler and Luke was a baby.  I remember my mom telling us Grandpa Cerami had died and I just cried and cried.  It had been several years since I'd seen him as we hadn't been back to Buffalo since we moved in the early 80's.  I'm thinking it had been 3 or 4 years since we had seen him and at that age, it seemed like an eternity.  There have been so many times I have sworn he was here.  It's amazing to me how a smell can trigger a flood of memories.  For me, whenever I smell a pipe, I think of him.  And of course, whenever I see a Hershey bar as he always gave those to us...even when Grandma told him not to.  Rest in peace Grandpa....we miss you & love you!

He's the one with the drink in his hand.  :)

In other news, it's race week!  I am so looking forward to this race but admit, I've got some nerves.  As most of you know, I've been working like a dog the past 3 weeks and in all honesty, probably longer than that since I've been trying to do two jobs at work since November.  I am thankful I'm not training for anything big right now or I would be in big, big trouble!  Saturday will be interesting without a doubt.  I'm super determined to have a good race and just focus on what I can control.  Yeah, I'm going into the race tired and probably not as prepared as I would like as a result of work but that's ok...that doesn't mean I won't do well.  And come on, this is THE Hot Chocolate run that I've been looking forward to for months.  So wish me luck this weekend and pray I catch up on all the sleep I've missed over the next couple of nights.  :)


With that, it's time for me to go and start winding down for the night.  Hope y'all are having a great week!

Back in the saddle again!

After two completely hellish weeks at work (60hrs each week thank you), I had very low expectations for my workouts this weekend.  I pretty much knew I would have a 10 mile run that left much to be desired and I was just praying I could make it up the hills on our ride today without getting off my bike and walking it.  :)  I'm happy to report that neither workout went as I had thought. 


There isn't much to tell about the run other than I was forced to do it on the treadmill.  O M G.  Talk about BORING.  While I have found myself indoors more often than I would like, I had really wanted to do my run outside this weekend.  Mother Nature, the mean old hag that she is, had other plans.  I made it almost the whole 10 miles before I couldn't stand it anymore.  My legs didn't give up, my eyes did.  I couldn't handle looking at the people in front of me on the treadmills any longer.  People were coming and going and I was stuck trying to get this workout in.  My nose also gave up as there were some stinky folks on the 'mills next to me.  I think 24 might have even had the heat on as it was a bit of a sauna in there.  I hopped off the treadmill and went on my merry way. 



This morning Keith & I ventured to Montgomery for the CHS Golden Girls Gold Rush Cycling Classic.  I am a good girl and did the 25 mile route as my coach did not want me going longer than 1.5hrs.  Keith went the 44+ route without me.  I love supported rides...I just find them to be so much fun.  I was excited to get to see so many folks I haven't seen in ages, meet a few new folks and ride with someone I never get to ride with (Kelley!).  What a fun, fun morning.  I wasn't scheduled for a run after my ride but since I was waiting for Keith, I figured I'd take a few loops around the parking lot.  It felt SOOOOOO good.  Rest assured coach, I kept it easy.  I really needed to keep warm while I waited!  :)  I know you understand.  Props to the Golden Girls for putting on this ride.  They were very energetic and were out yelling for everyone even though it was colder than a witches you-know-what.  Keith really enjoyed his first supported ride as well and is looking forward to the next one!

So now that I've had two great workouts this weekend, it's time to watch the Super Bowl!  I could care less who wins but because the Giants are from my home state of New York, I'm going to go ahead and cheer them on.  I would've made my pick based on who had the better uniforms but the colors are the same so no dice.  ;)  Kidding.  Or am I?


Oh, what weekend is complete without a trip to Home Depot.  I admit, before becoming a homeowner, I hated the place but now, L O V E.  I'm curious if they keep a record of what folks buy there.  If so, I'm pretty certain they are going to flag my name and quit selling spray paint to me.  Yeah, getting carded to buy spray paint is an awesome feeling.  WTH is wrong with kids today????  OMG, I sound so old!  I needed more spray paint as my collection lacks green.  I found the perfect shade....Oregano.  It looks more like something that might be found in a diaper but I'm pretty sure "baby dookie" would not be as good of a seller.  Anyway, I'm totally off topic now and I'm sure you're wondering what I was doing at Home Depot.  Well.....I was buying more supplies for projects I found on Pinterest.  I am so, so, so excited to give these next two projects a shot.  As I was driving home, I had grand visions of me starting a website and selling my creations.  Ahhh, wouldn't that be fun.  Reality started to sneak in as I wondered where-oh-where I would find all this spare time.  I can't quit my day job b/c let's face it, I'm not THAT crafty, I just follow directions extremely well.  And what about another Ironman?  If (errrr when) I sign up again, my spare time will be devoted to training (as well as weekly massages & pedicures).  I think it's time to rethink this website & business.  Maybe I should make a few more projects first and see how that goes.  


Well, it's time to sign off and get ready to watch the Super Bowl.  I'm pretty certain I'll be falling asleep as my grand plan for a nap today went to the crapper.  Happy Sunday!!!!!

Where's Jenny?

As I uploaded some pictures tonight, I realized it's been a few weeks since I blogged and even though I don' have much to say, I thought I should hop online and let y'all know I'm alive and well before someone files a missing person report.  :)

A few things have kept me from blogging:  (1) work and (2) Pinterest.  

As you might recall, I found out in November I was getting a new role at EY.  Well, I've basically been *trying* to do two jobs since around Thanksgiving.  It didn't get really bad until January hit as my replacement still hadn't been found and I was getting to a point where I really need to focus on my new job.  I realized pretty quickly I would need to adjust my schedule and so came up with a plan to work 60hr weeks.  While this won't last forever, it still stinks.  I have to say though, I'm very appreciative EY allows me the flexibility to leave work by 4pm so I can miss traffic and get home more quickly.  Doing this gives me the opportunity to work as needed and still get to eat dinner at a decent time and get a workout in.  Thanks EY!!!  

Pinterest is my newest addiction.  I love checking out new ideas for projects, decorating, cooking, etc.  I seriously could waste hours on that site.  Sometimes I think I should just go on a leave of absence and make as much crap as I can and get it all out of my system.  

I am training for an event...The Woodlands Half Marathon.  The only triathlon I'm officially signed up for is the Hy-Vee National Championship in September so it's nice to have a little "down time" right now and focus on running.  It's not like I have much of a choice with my work schedule.  I will be signing up for some other triathlons very soon though so don't worry....I'll get back to the fun stuff soon enough.  

Okey dokey smokey.  That's about all I have time for tonight.  I promise not to be a stranger!!!

Happy training!