Birthday Bash!

Well, if having two out of four parents turn 60 in a 3 week span isn’t a good idea for a party, I don’t know what is.  Add in two more family members with birthdays this week…well, you gotta do something
30 family members and friends.
72 hot dogs.
7 different salads.
12 bags of chips.
9 3 liter bottles of soda.
2 cakes.
4 birthday boys and girls.
ONE AWESOME TIME!

Cousins Larry, Pam, Karen and Tom (the newlyweds!)

Deck step dining-Dennis, Debbie, Kathy and Noah

Webster friends Linda, Gaylen, Joan and Dave-and Mama TFB!

The Birthday crew-Larry, Aunt Diana-and the 60 twins Mama TFB and Dad G.

Blow out them candles!!

What a great day   Good food, good friends, good times!! 

And even ended up with some good old school bocce in an adventureland lawn.  (Who needs mowing-it madek it more interesting to search for the Polanski that way, right? )  Thanks to everyone for bring the side dish and snack yummies….can’t wait to do it again!!

www.nataliedee.com

As for today…..a hot and humid 9 miles behind me (yay for mastering the nutrition and pace), and now it’s time to clean the house and chill the heck out.  Who knows what kind of genius I’ll come up with if I give my tired mind and body a break and zone in front of crap TV!
Yup.  That’s probably it.  Later gators

Have you met Miss Jones?

Have you met Miss Jones

Someone said as we shook hands

She was just Miss Jones to me....

Who, me?  Why yes, yes, I have met her :-).  While I have focused on the hubster's accomplishments over this past weekend (as I darn well SHOULD have!)  I have neglected to mention the highlight of my weekend!  (Not quite as exciting as finishing an Ironman.  But still pretty cool). 

Source

I met Miss (well Mrs.) Jones!!  Yup.  Michellie Jones, uber triathlete, winner of the Ironman World Championships in 2006, Olympic silver medalist, fellow pink triathlon chick and on and on.  SUH-WEET!!  Now, I'm not too much for hero worship, but when I started out in this sport back in 2005-2006-, Michellie Jones was where is was at.  (Yes, there was a pre-Chrissie Wellington, I promise). 

This pro all star sorta wowed me from the get go because she was super fast, a multi- distance guru, she wore pink (clearly, this was important to me, lol) and she seemed like a genuine nice person.

Well, she is!  As I dropped off the hubster at the athlete dinner last Friday, I ran to the store to pick up a few last minute things for his race day.  Half hour later-I get a text:  Mrs. Jones is here.  At first, I had no clue, but then remembered that my tri idol does race day coverage for Ironman live.  Awesomesauce.  I got really jealous, but then decided to sneak into the dinner after they finished serving (hey, I wasn't gonna steal athlete food!) to catch a glimpse.  No such luck.  I got into the mas of about 2000 athletes, watched Mike Reilly do his cool presentation, watched Matt Long give an Ironman pep talk, and all that jazz.  Pre-athlete meeting, the VIPs left, and then I saw this tall woman with blonde hair walk by...was it??  I stood there, kinda star struck and the hubster made this "Well, there ya go!" gesture.  Super.  cool.

Me and Michellie!

I stood watching like a freakin 6 year old, as she walked outside the tent and stood talking to some very lucky people.  The hubster nudges me and goes, why don't you go ask her for a picture?  No....and I got shy :-)  After a few minutes of being stupid, I went over and sorta stammered (all cool like).  "Ummm....hi.  You're basically my triathlon idol, can I get a picture?"  And she smiles and was like, Of course!! and says, oh by the way, I love your necklace! (And like a 4th grader, I'm now never taking it off).

YAY!  Of course, I look like a total idiot in the picture, and I think she must be about 6'2", as I came up to her shoulders.  lol.

Still, pretty epic. So yeah, I met Miss Jones :-)  And it made my weekend!!

                                        ***

But I guess that's old news.  It's almost the new weekend!!  YAY!  I've got a 90 mile ride on Saturday and  a long run on Sunday as we approach 9 WEEKS left until my Ironman!!  And then, between those two, serving up a picnic at the casa for about 30 people to celebrate Mama TFB and Dad G.'s big 6-0 celebration.  Good times ahead.  Stay tuned for pics of the summer picnic big birthday bash, along with a few new BBQ recipes and tips for hosting and feeding a crowd!  Happy Friday, lovelies :-)

Desserts backwards

Exactly.  It seems as if in the time that I was away this weekend, the big guy upstairs turned the world upside down, shook out all the marbles, and then put them back in the jar.  And now I gotta figure out how to make sense of it all :-).  No biggie, I got this:



http://www.nataliedee.com/

MMM.  Peanut Butter, I love thee.

Oh right, life.  Crap.  So, how to deal??  Well, it seems that when it rains, it pours, friends.  I'm pretty good at dealing with stress (it's just desserts backwards, after all), but I pretty much suck at it when it comes at me from all sides!  Some of it's minor (like my poor hubby who is the walking wounded :-P) or the fact that I'm throwing a party on Saturday with about 30 people invited and my house and yard is a mess....to the more major like some of the stuff going on with work right now (not life or death of course, but alot of stress during the 9-5) and a few things going on with loved ones that leave me feeling kinda spent.

And that's not even dealing with my own neurosis junk!  So, how to deal? :-P

Well, I won't pretend to be a self-help book, cause no one would buy that wants to hear me preach, but I'm working on a plan for me :-)  Namely, some things that don't involve eating a jar of peanut butter in one sitting or a carb fest for comfort!  So, what's on my chill out list?

Well, first and foremost, I'm trying to work with the rule of ten.  As in...looking at the problem.  Will it matter in 10 minutes?  10 hours?  10 days?  10 years?  If it's the last two, it's worth some sort of attention.  If it's the first two, move along, sista.

Secondly, as strange as it seems to type this, I am trying to put me first when I can.  I think (and I find it's mostly women, but men do this too, so no stereotyping :-P) that it has been drilled into us by society that we need to please everyone, and it usually comes at the expense of what is healthy for us.  Can you bake 3 dozen cookies by tomorrow for a bake sale?  SURE!  How about helping me out after work today with fill in the blank?  NO PROBLEM!  Hey, can you meet me to have a working lunch today?  ABSOLUTELY!  Catch my drift?  We want to be helpful and seen as good people, and I think that is super, but not 100% of the time, otherwise you lose doing whats best for the most important person-you. 'Cause if you don't take care of you, who else will/  And how will you be good to anyone else?  (Just sayin'.  I'm really not advocating selfishness.  It's more so, no, honey, I can't do the dishes again tonight.  I'm gonna go soak in a bubble bath to destress myself.  (Again, note to add-the hubster does the dishes 99% of the time.  Just making an example :-P)

Lastly, I'm working in increments.  I made a list of things to get done this week, and I'm going to work off a timer.  One hour each night to cross stuff off the list, then put it away till the next day.  Tackle the most important stuff first, and if it doesn't all get done, the heck with it.  I'm sure no one will notice if I don't get around to weeding the entire flower bed or dusting the TV cabinet.  And if they do, they need a life.  So there :-P.

Phew!  I feel better putting that down.  Anyone else have any good life stress busting tips?  Aside from spoonfuls of peanut butter.....

Derf.

A man made of Iron

Well, now that I've made you wait with bated breath on the actual RACE DAY, let's fix that!!!

hmm, what should I do today?

Sunday, July 24, dawned bright, beautiful, and EARLY. The hubster and I were up at 3:45, pre race brekkie, then on our way into Placid. I dropped him off to sort out gear and nutrition, found a parking spot, ran into Dad G and we were off to get our soon to be ironman on his way! He was pretty good-a little nervous at first, but some Europe calmed him down and made him smile :-) Lubed up with sunscreen, body glide, a few deep breaths, kisses, got "un" married (I held his ring so it didn't fall off into the lake!) and at 6:40, we parted ways so he could make his way down to the lake to start his race off!!

Ever wonder what 2400 athletes in the water looks like? Well, there ya go. Complete chaos. But very exciting :-) Dad G. and I took our spectating VERRYY seriously and took videos of the swim start for post ability (check out facebook !)The swim was two loops, so we went back 'round Mirror Lake to see if we could spot the hubster starting loop 2. I know, in a mass of 2400. But guess what....I FOUND HIM!  And what's more important, I got a picture!!  In for lap two, and the hubster exited the water in 1:14:xx.  Sweet! 

What, WHATS next?!?

 The Bike

The hubster headed off for his 112 mile bike (yes, you read that right!) and I headed out for my 20 mile run.  I ran the first 7 miles on the run course and hit 86 to run up down till I  saw the hubster.  Hit the bears up (holy run hills!) and caught the hubster at mile 50, lookin' super strong.  Ran back to the car, jumped in Mirror lake to cool down, and changed to head out to catch the hubster coming in from the bike.  Chilled out with Dad G. and made up a few time bets (he won :-P)  After a bit of hurry up and wait (the main theme of triathlon spectating) the hubster rolled in from the bike at 7:20:xx (Stinker beat me by 59 seconds, isn't that nuts!)

 

 Two down, one to go!!  And if you know the hubster at all, this was his nemesis:  the run.  He has gotten oodles better in the last year, but I knew that he was a bit nervous about it.  First marathon post 112 miles of biking and 2.4 miles of swimming?  No sweat :-P

The Run

As the hubster changed his "costume" in transition 2, Dad G. and I hustled off to mile one to get ready to bring out our cheering section action!  We situated ourselves at the top of hill one to get him up it, and cheered our little hearts out.  The soon to be IM reported some cramping, but felt really good about the bike and swim, and relayed the AWESOMENESS of his day.  Super excited to hear that!  We parted ways, and Dad G.  and I took a nice stroll down the course to try top hit up the hubster at mile 9 (the course does a loopy and then an out and back).  We walked about 2-3 miles down the course (Dad G. is a super trooper and walked probably about 10 miles with me by the end of the day!!)  Waited once we got to mile 9, chatted it up, and sooner rather than later saw....OUR BOY!!

 Looked great, ran a few steps with me, and got the big ole thumbs up.  YAY, still happy and going strong!  So now what?  Well, we walked again back to mile 14/1 to catch him on his second loop.  Looked at projected finish times...still too soon to tell :-)

And about 20 minutes later, we saw him!  YAY!!  Still truckin' still going strong!  Dad looks at me and says "Now what?"  Well, we walk :-P  I told him I was gonna walk the course again down to the out and back to give our boy a rah rah on his last 5 miles!!

 Headed out to River Road....about about 45 minutes later....HERE WE COME!  Less than 10k to go!  At this point, he was hurting a bit more, but we did the essential "finger check". 

Me:  Hey, does your pinkie hurt?

The hubster:  Nope.  Feels good.  I'm good to go :-)

Sweet!  We chatted up for a bit, then I left my man to finish the last of the course...out the last two miles...back through the Olympic Oval....to..Mike Reilly saying...

GREG GLASER, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!  14:41:42.  140.6 miles of glory.  7 months of training.  And he did it!

Once again, so.  stinkin'. proud.  I love you, baby!

But why take my secondhand narrative's word for it?  Read the real deal right here!!!



HE DID IT!!!

14:41:42, and the HUBSTER IS OFFICIALLY AN IRONMAN!!!


What an amazing day!!  More details tomorrow, fo’ sho.  As of now, I'm working on 3 hours sleep, a 5 a.m. wake up call, and a 6 hour drive home.  Time to get life back in order and we will relive yesterday tomorrow.  (Sounds poetic, no?)
BUT…lest you think I sat around all weekend, here is my (much smaller) achievement :


Yup, that’s a 20 mile run through the Adirondacks…on the run and bike course, up the bears and a few beastly hillies!  WOOT.
And last, just for fun, a PSA:  If you lack hair and like long rides, watch out:

Oops   Iron-battle scars!
Later gators!

The Calm before the Storm

In 12 hours, the hubster will jump into Mirror Lake with 2400 other athletes and start his iron journey.  Before we go to bed tomorrow,  he WILL be an Ironman.
The training is done.

The bike is racked.
Bike and Run Bags are in.
Pre-race meal is done.
Check, check, check.
Can I even tell you how stinkin' proud I am of this guy???  Whether he comes in at 12 hours or at 16:59, he has dedicated the last 7 months of his life to training for an event.  And he's a sprinter!!
That's the amazing part.  Not the 13-17 hours on the course tomorrow, but the dedication to this event.  Of running in the snow (I think he wishes we had some now, lol).  Of swimming 7 million 50 meter repeats.  Of biking 6 hours on the trainer in the middle of winter.
Amazing  Just Amazing.

Tomorrow, feel free to follow www.ironmanlive.com-under tracking, the hubster's number is 1115.  They will post updates on every timing mat he crosses (once on the swim, 6 times on the bike, and 6 times on the run) and then live stream the finish line. 
Of course, I am going to be iron sherpa-ing my little heart out for this man, and will be all over the course with his Dad to make the day special. If you have some time tomorrow, stop and think about the hubster and send him your best.  He is one heck of an athlete, but anything helps on a race this long.
Greg, I KNOW tomorrow we're gonna hear Mike Reilly call you and Ironman.  And I cannot wait to be there to share it with you.  I am so PROUD and EXCITED for your day!!

Trail Mix

Ohhh, what a wonderful day so far :-)  Still super hot up here in Placid/Keene, but sunny and gorgeous! The hubster and I started off the day bright and early-it's his birthday, have to make the most of it!!
We headed into the main part of the Inn for the "breakfast buffet.".  Um, can we say HOLY YUM??  They had fresh eggs, homemade bread and muffins, bagels, spreads, coffee, tea, fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, and...AN OATMEAL BUFFET!!  Check it out:

Tea, Coffee, hot cocoa!!

granola and fruit

Oatmeal and toppings...YUM!

fruit and organic yogurt

Breads, spreads and eggs

Breakfast!!!

 

"You're gonna love my nuts!"

YUM TASTIC.  Post eats, we headed back to the room to celebrate the birthday :-)  Ice cream and cake AFTER Ironman, but the presents now!!  The hubster scored some sweet $$ for post IM goodies, a massage, magazine subscriptions, Beers of the World gift card and....
A Slap Chop!!!  LOL  (Don't ask.)
After da birthday, the hubster stayed in to chillax, while I  explored the Keene Valley Trails.  I headed out to Rooster Comb, which is about a 4 mile hike.   Hot, humid, and buggy, but just gorgeous!!

Clearly, I find myself to be badass...lol

Whaddya live under a rock??

Perfect.  Now it's time to go jump in the lake, and the athlete dinner!!  Lovin' this weekend and it only gets better....2 days till IRONMAN!!

We're just Keene!

Har har har.  Well, as you probably guessed, we arrived safe and sound in Lake Placid!!  The hubster got his bibs and signed his life away....we soaked in Placid for a bit, then drove to our Bed and Breakfast to check in, unpack, eat dinner, and chill!!  Check it out:

Keene Descent....from a car :-P  A little less crazy that way!!

Transition set up at the Oval...its IRONMAN, baby!

No, I will not sue WTC if I drown (that would be kinda difficult, wouldn't it? :-P

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Backyard at Keene Valley Lodge

The Notman Suite (we have our own porch!)

Living room (I spy a future IRONMAN!)

Bedroom...King Sized bed HEAVEN!!

After settling in and letting it cool down to a reasonable 90 degrees (at 7:30, lol) I set off for a ridiculous 5 mile run in the heat and explored Keene Valley.  It was muggy, hot, and slow, but beautiful!!  Hopefully I'll get to check out some of the trails while we are here :-)

On Tap tomorrow is a 2 mile swim in beautiful mirror lake, exploring Keene a bit, some hiking, and a nice run while the hubster is at the Athlete dinner.  Oh yeah....AND celebrating SOMEONE'S BIRTHDAY!!!  (hint-I married him!!)  I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!