Triathlon Machine... Day 1!!

So I'd like to think that last year I at least qualified as a triathlete to some degree!

BUT... Today was my first day of being a Triathlon Machine!!

And I must say, it went well! :)

Started with a trip to Masters... FINALLY!! Had to seriously talk myself out of bed this morning to go though. It's funny, I like to swim, but I much prefer to do it at Masters vs. going by myself. However, I find it so hard to go to Masters because I have to get up so freaking early!! Catch 22... kind of. But.. I finally got my lazy rear out of bed and actually made it to Masters ON TIME!! YIPEE!! Knew I was off to a great start!

So the sets ended up being a broken 2100 Sprint!! Didn't realize it until we'd done quite a bit. And he just kept adding 400's!! However... my fastest 100yd before today was 1:30. Not really sure how or why... but all of my swim 100's, all 12 of them were either 1:25-1:29!!! I PRed everyone!! WHOO HOO!! My pull sets were either 1:30 or 1:31. I'm a slower puller than swimmer and don't use paddles because they hurt my shoulders and honestly don't think I use them correctly!! So I was still pleased as punch with those splits as well!!

So of course I get out of Masters feeling VERY happy that I got my butt there today!!

Next on the agenda... Run a few errands and pick up my new JUICER!! (More about that later!)

Then... onto my long run for the week. Mixed in it were 5 x 5 min 7:45 pace sets ("or faster if you'd like" says Coach Jen!) Ran in my neighborhood. It's hilly, which I cordially invited since I'm no longer running the super flat run at Florida! All of my splits were between 7:15-7:30 pace!! For me... that's fast! Found my HURT BOX! Which of course I was cursing and thinking how over rated it was at the time, but came to terms with it once it was finally over! :) Again, finished today feeling like... Mission Accomplished!!

Afterwards, I got a GREAT massage from my friend, Amy. She does a really great job! Felt great at this point.

Then onto my favorite part of the day...Ladies and Gentlemen... Meet my new best friend!!

I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up a ton of fresh fruits and veggies. Came home, and got to juicing!! And I have to tell you.. Bree was so RIGHT!! So far, we've made the coconut, pineapple, and banana (ohhh it's like dessert!) and as of now my favorite... oranges, lemons, ginger, and asian pears!! It doesn't get much better than that!!

I can tell... I'm about to be a JUICE JUNKIE!!!

I must say this Triathlon Machine thing isn't half bad just yet!! I'm sure I will write some where in the near future about how this SUCKS!! But, I'm counting on you guys to remind me of this day when I do!!

Have a great weekend!

K :)

I am "Pregnant"... With Hawaii 70.3!!

(This is a picture of me pregnant with Gracie. I was 6 months pregnant with a 7 month old!! So no comments on how big I was :) No... look at that adorable bald head.. Ah... it's not good for me to look at pictures like this! 2 kiddos is PLENTY for me :)

That's right!! This is my NEW perspective!!

Those of you who read a bunch of the other blogs that I read, know that Food has been a very popular topic these past few days.

As women, as athletes... it's on our minds A LOT! At least the women I know.

I lost a lot of weight about 9 years ago and have been fascinated/ scared of nutrition ever since. The information is EXTREMELY conflicting... though it also seems so common sense!

I've been approached by a lot of people for nutrition guidance. I've asked a lot of people about nutrition guidance for myself. It's a topic that at least for ME is on my mind!

Why... because I LOVE food. I enjoy it in social circles. I enjoy it for special occasions. Special treats. I am NOT one to eat simply for fuel.

However, I've written about moderation. Try to practice it to the best of my ability my goodness!!

BUT... Here's the thing... I knew yesterday that OK, Though I wanted to do the best I could at Florida... Hawaii is a MUCH bigger deal to me. Probably because this is not an everyday occurrence. Probably because I know that Hawaii is going to be even HARDER and that means I've got to be even that much more prepared!

So... I want to be in TOP shape. Bring my total A-Game!! And that means not only do I need to execute every workout as planned, that means I need to turn myself into a complete and total TRIATHLON MACHINE!!

When a woman finds out she's pregnant, something just sets off that you want to do everything right for your body and the body of your unborn child. You read about how you need extra protein for brain development. You up your folic acid intake to help with the child's development. You avoid some of your favorite things... Diet Coke :), coffee, certain herbs and herbal teas, etc. I used to even cover my nose if I got around someone smoking!! :)

Ok.. so if I can completely focus on nutrition and what I put into my body for 9 months in order to have a beautiful, healthy baby... I can do the exact same for 3 months heading into my A-race. My "new baby" triathlon.

So from this point forward... I am considering myself Pregnant with Hawaii!! And thanks to Bree, and all her juice posts... I'm going tomorrow to buy a juicer! Adam thinks I'm crazy. He says anyone that buys one of those things never uses them. Well that's all I need because I'll use it just to spite him if need be! :)

Now does this mean ZERO treats... no, BUT the next 3 months are going to be 90% fresh fruits, veggies, veggie and fruit juices, lean protein, whole grains, and all natural GOOD stuff!!

Happy, Healthy eating to you all!!

K :)

Ironman Calamity!!

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE HOURS OF MONDAY AT 10:00PM-WEDNESDAY 5:00PM......(tick....tick....tick....)

What started as an ordinary evening in a quiet household in suburbia -Atlanta suddenly changed to a could be Ironman disaster!!

A young girl finally lay down in bed after a LONG 10 days of school-vacation for her two energy-filled toddlers!! She had just hours before written a blog of her MUCH needed and MUCH anticipated Tuesday morning. A morning meant to be all about relaxation. Quiet moments... Mental and physical recovery for this hard-working, always on the GO, GO, GO girl!!

However, that classic mistake had been made! When a moment is designated as to be a relaxing moment... DOOM is definitely on it's way!! :)

Well, while quietly unwinding at approximately 10pm looking over just a few quick things on the internet before lights out in an effort to be the good triathlete girl she strives to be....

CATASTROPHE STRIKES!!

While randomly confirming some dates and times for the Florida 70.3 that she has based the entire beginning part of her year around, rented houses in Disney, made plans for her children to take a Disney vacation during the race weekend and beyond.....she comes across information that completely SHOCKS HER!!

Somehow.... Someway.... Ironman Florida 70.3 IS SOLD OUT!!! AS OF FEB. 8TH!!!!

WHAT?????

THAT CAN'T BE?????

She did this race last year and didn't sign up until April. How can it be that the race is full already, so soon!! She had MEANT to sign up. Just didn't think it would be too much of a concern based off of her experiences from last.

No Email from the race giving me a heads up that they were approaching their capacity!!

No warning sign whatsoever that her plans, her family's plans... ALL OUT THE WINDOW!!

She lay there in complete shock with a serious anxiety attack swelling up in her chest and tears forming in her eyes!!

OK..Let's pull this together. This can't be THAT bad!!

First... email Coach Jen!! "S**T Jen!! My A-Race!! I'm not in!! Help!"

Second... Ok, ironman.com!........ What other races are open???? Uh... NOT MANY!!

And thus... the saga unfolds.....

Monday night was not restful... tossing in bed wondering... WHAT TO DO????

The most NEEDED, most WANTED restful Tuesday morning was consumed flipping through the newest edition of "The Road to Kona" featuring all of the Ironman races and on the internet communicating with Coach Jen (bless her heart... like 10 emails!!), ironman.com, and instant messaging Adam, the support team, while at his NEW position at work.

Ok... what are the options... Florida was chosen because it's close. It could be combined with a family vacation. However, the other races require travel..

I'm thinking... if I'm going to travel to a 70.3 race, maybe I should do a double qualifier. What are the options?

St. Croix..... OH.... So nice!! BUT... expensive, TOUGH, and my chances... um, I don't know.

Buffalo Springs, TX... um.. maybe... call Delta... it's going to cost $750/person to fly to Lubbock TX. AND it's a 9 hour drive from Houston (the closest airport) to Lubbock... UH.. I'm thinking NOT. Again, expensive believe it or not, TOUGH, and my chances...um, pretty tough. 1 Kona slot, MAYBE 2 70.3 slots with some SUPER crazy fast girls!! Thinking its not worth it

Hawaii 70.3... OHHHH... Now we're talking!! BUT... EXPENSIVE, TOUGH, and who knows what the chances would be!! BUT... could hang out with Bree!! She even offered to put me up in a place!! (She's so sweet)! Ok.. thinking, this is a maybe...

BUT, let's think about this.... Adam and I are scheduled to go skiing in 2 weeks! We've already planned a trip to Disney with the kids, PLUS... we're travelling in April to St. Petersburg.. Not really an expensive trip, but still!!

So... after MUCH discussion through Tuesday... I went to bed Tuesday night thinking, I'll skip the 70.3 races this year, do Gulf Coast, and sign up for a community fund slot for IM AZ in Nov.

But... something just wasn't seeming right! It just didn't seem settled.. you know deep down!!

Being the girl that claims..."If I want something... I WILL find a way to make it happen!!" I got to work today..

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD!!

Ok... St. Petersburg... not that far from Disney. We don't HAVE to go to Disney that particular weekend because guess what... NOT racing then. So... we could combine the trips.... shorten the Disney trip and SAVE, SAVE, SAVE$$$$ :)

Next... Chicago Marathon I'd saved money for... NOT doing it! Mainly because Coach says not a good idea. BUT... that's $$ set aside that is suddenly "up for travelling grabs!"

Community fund slot into IM AZ, $1k smackers!! Once all things are considered... suddenly became clear that maybe THE DREAM, HAWAII wasn't that far off!!

PLUS... with some help from my sponsor, the wonderful PT Solutions helping with entry fees and whatnot.. OK... Suddenly beautiful, sunny HAWAII doesn't seem to crazy!!

Not to mention my wonderful new friend Bree who is willing to help me find a decent place to stay we hope that won't cost us a gazillion dollars! :)

TWISTED, CRAZY, WHIRLWIND, FRUSTRATED, UP AND DOWN... 43 HOURS LATER....

After running numbers for the 10th time, re organizing the schedule to be JUST right...

at 5pm on Wed.. Kellye Mills signed up for Hawaii 70.3!!

ALOHA!! Here I come!!

Overall thinking Ironman Calamity turned Ironman Dream!!

Thanks for reading!

K :)

School Days!! Glorius School Days!!

I am sitting here writing this and when I finish, I will bathe my children, read them their goodnight story, tuck them in to bed a little early because tonight is a SCHOOL NIGHT!!

Yes... tomorrow morning we will get ready for school, I will drop them off at precisely 9am, and then will happily come home after picking up my FREE coffee from the Woodstock Coffee House (I have finally filled my card of 10 purchased coffees and now one's on them!), and then head home to do.... NOTHING!!

That's right...Nothing!!

No laundry, no cleaning, no fixing juices or breaking up fights, no playing games of candyland or ones on the computer, no dressing baby dolls, no work (sorry restaurant... I'm taking a break :), no training (my workouts are tomorrow night), no studying, no physical therapy or appointments, no grocery store shopping... N.O.T.H.I.N.G.... NOTHING!!

Ahh.. I LOVE my kids! But Winter Break is OVER!! They are soooo bored and ready to go be with their friends and get out of the house some. PLUS... They're probably tired of each other. They are close, but as Adam put it once, "It's like having spend the night company ALL OF THE TIME!" So, they need their own space, as I do mine!

So if anyone is looking for me tomorrow between the hours of 9-1pm, I am, as my Dad used to say, "Gone Fishing!" I'm nowhere to be found! I'm in "Kellye World" for 4 beautiful hours of ME time!!

See you guys when I return!!

K :)

Run for the Son 2008!!

Well... today I had my first open run race of the 2008 season!!

I've got to be honest when I say I went in with mixed feelings!

It's a 10K. And that's just not a distance that I feel really comfortable with.... for a lot of reasons! :)

1) I've only raced 4 10k's in my lifetime!! The first two were where I ran the Peachtree Road Race in 2000 and 2001. I think my times were 59:something my first year, and 58:something the second year. Both of these races were run for FUN! You don't RACE the Peachtree Road Race unless you're invited pretty much!! There are seriously THOUSANDS of people who run that race and though they try to seed it, it just doesn't quite work out that way. So I just went out and ran with friends for the fun of it!!

2) The other 2 were inside of triathlons. I did Tugaloo in 2006 and my run split was 51:something. THAT was a super tough one for me!! It was a ton of hills inside a St. Park and I was SOOO not prepared for that race. My other was last year during the Chattahoochee Waterfront Tri, and well I've said before that that run was disastrous!! No food or salt brought me to a 59:00 10k and it's mostly FLAT!!

So... you can kind of see why my confidence level wasn't exactly high for this 10k. :)

THEN.... I'm told, oh this run is SUPER hilly!! I'm like OH GREAT!! Hills!! :( I have 0% confidence on the hills!!

BUT... Jen got me all pumped up!! She fixed it where I went in not totally trashed. We decided to use it as an LT test for me, so my instructions... 80% for the first 1/2 mile, then 100% for the entire rest of the run!! I had a mission... FIND MY HURT BOX!!

That made me nervous! :)

I mean I've been WANTING to push myself, but it's easier said than done!

So yesterday she walked me through dinner-the finish line every step of the way!! We had a nutrition, hydration, pace, everything game plan!!

Races, no matter what distance or goal make me nervous. I don't sleep well the night before. I'm ALWAYS up before the alarm, and my stomach just does that butterfly thing until the gun goes off!!

Well I followed her plan precisely. Lined up with the top runners right near the front, and OFF I went!!

I'm trying to focus on MY level, MY run. It's so tempting to sprint off with the front pack right at the beginning. But I was sticking to my game plan and knew that I just wasn't going to be able to keep up with some of them, so I let them go.

The first section of the race was a short out and back turn around. It headed slightly up hill from the start, which got my hr going! I could feel myself pushing, and then once I got to where I figured I was about 1/2 a mile in, I started pumping it a little harder! I wore my Garmin, but made it where I couldn't see my hr. I was afraid of looking down at the number and getting scared I'd blow up! So I honestly tried to look at my watch as little as possible. I'd check my mile splits, but that was about it! I didn't want to focus on anything but my PE Level. Because the goal was to go all out, and since we were using this to kind of figure out what that was for me exactly... I didn't want any numbers messing with my mind!!

So, we turn around and get back to where we started from about 1.5 miles in. Then the run REALLY begins. There was 3 more long stretches of road to go. 2 Major hills on the first stretch, and then I was TOLD from there it wasn't that bad! HA!! Driving roads does NOT give the hills justice if you ask me. You never really know how steep and nasty some of those hills are until your hr is maxed out and you're running up it begging for the crest!!

So once I hit that first turn... I'm booking it at this point! I try to keep pushing despite the fact that my stomach is already starting to disagree with me. Jen told me that if I wasn't nauseous by mile 4, then I wasn't pushing it hard enough. Well I think sloshy stomach was replaced by nausea at around 2.5-3 miles!! So then I'm like, "CRAP am I going to blow up!!" But I kept hearing her say that I wouldn't. Just to keep fighting, so I did!

The hills weren't quite as bad on the last 2 stretches, but they were there for sure! And there was a decent down hill section as well which my heart greatly appreciated!!

All and All... I finished 48:17!!

My somewhat goal time was to try to come in under 50min. With the hills, my inexperience with the distance, and limited speed training... I knew better than to think I could go out there and do much better.

So even though 48:17 isn't FAST for some!! It was for me today!!

I ended up coming in 2nd in my age-group (which was still 29 for this race!), and I haven't gotten confirming results but I think around 5th or 6th woman overall. So, it was good and I was happy!!

Why???... Because I went out and did EXACTLY what I was supposed to!! I followed Jen's plan to the T, came in under my semi-goal, got the info Jen needed to plan my hr from here on out, and PUSHED myself to the point that I thought I WAS going to puke at the end!!

What does that mean from here... HOPEFULLY, I'll get FASTER and FASTER and come St. Anthony's and Florida 70.3, which are flat runs, I'll PR all year!!

Thank you so much to EVERYONE for your support!! I thought about Jen telling me to "GO. GO. GO!!", the HTFU crew!!, and All my blogger friends out there rooting for me today! You guys are the best!!

2008 BRING IT ON!!

K :)

Winter "Break" !!

As most of you probably already know, I used to be an Elementary Teacher back before I had Cooper and Gracie. For me, it was one of those things (I guess like anything really :) that had it's ups and downs!

I actually came into it strangely. I graduated from Auburn in December of 1999. Well, December is not really the best time to get a job as a teacher if you can imagine :) Adam and I knew we'd be moving back to Atlanta. It was home, and I think he already had a job by like October or something. I went to a few interviews and job fairs at that time, but all the "good" places to work weren't in need of anyone at that time. I did get some offers from a couple of schools, but they were all situations where I would have 20+ students some of which were from the local orphanage and over 1/2 didn't speak English very well. Unfortunately, I was not the person for that job at that point in my life. And for the people that take on that incredible challenge, I 100% salute you. But coming into it with no experience, I just didn't think I was ready for that kind of heartbreak!!

Ok, so I ended up taking a job at a stationary shop in the mall where my mom worked. I worked there about 30 hours a week from January-July. Again, nothing was really happening in the teacher world for me in the Atlanta area, so I decided to go work for Express instead. You know, Express Limited. The women's clothing store in the mall. I worked there from August 2000-December 15, 2000. Why you ask do I know the exact day that I was no longer an Express employee??? Well, because those were probably some of the worst 4.5 months of my life!!!

Ohhh... you'll only work 40 hrs/week and only one Sunday a month, and only close 2 nights a week, and will RARELY have to come in extra.... Can anyone say BS???? No wonder the pay wasn't all that bad. Because they figured they owned you, no matter what time of day it is. To this day if I get stressed about something I think, "Its just sweaters!" Because if you've ever been in a mall store at 3am trying to calm down another employee who is seriously freaking out about folding sweaters.... let's just say life hits you with some serious perspective!!! :)

Ok... so I keep getting off track! :)

A good friend of mine and one of my roommates from college clued me into job opening within her school where a current teacher was retiring in December. And not only that, it was for an EIP position. That is where you don't have a classroom. I worked with 4th and 5th graders who needed additional help in Reading and Math. Needless to say... it's a TON less work than a regular classroom teacher. And this is NOT to be confused for Special Ed. either. Again, my hats go way off to you Special Ed teachers out there!

So, I took the job and things were good. It was like FATE! The school was seriously located 2 miles from a house that Adam and I had just bought outside of the city. It just WORKED OUT!!

I worked in EIP for the remaining part of the 2001 school year and then that fall, a teacher ended up having to leave for some personal reasons unexpectedly, and I took over her 4th grade classroom. I WORKED my butt off that year!! At school at 7am-6pm just about every day. I spent all day Sunday making lesson plans and grading papers. It was CRAZY. But... I LOVED that class!! :) Generally, that group of your first year of students sticks out in a teacher's mind.

However... the next year was SOOOO not the same! I had a lot of parental and student issues. My principal was terrific! She was extremely supportive of me, which can make a HUGE difference, but when you have nightmares about your students, you know you're stressed!!

It was this year that we first had WINTER BREAK! An entire week off in February. Dreary February!! The one where you're thinking how in the world am I going to make it to April with this bunch!! At the time... it was a lifesaver.

Now the point of all of this is to point out how when I think about teaching now, I think I could be a MUCH better teacher. And I thought I did a pretty good job. I literally put my heart and soul into those little minds and prided myself on not being a "Worksheet Teacher." I wanted to make it fun and exciting and really wanted to challenge them!

Well now that I'm a PARENT and on the "other side of the fence", a lot of my perspective has changed :)

I think back to this one particular student that he and I just majorly butted-heads. I actually think about him a lot and wonder how he's doing. When he was in my class he'd hit that point where he was headed down a not-so-good path. He was on the verge of getting in trouble just enough to be labeled a "trouble-maker." And we all know that when that happens, getting into trouble tends to not take as much anymore and then before you know it, school becomes all about discipline and if they make it out of school with a diploma, well it's a miracle!

I wanted to stay on him and try to keep him in line. But oh... he was out to show me who was boss. Extremely resilient I'll give him that! :) Attention is what I think he ultimately wanted. In retrospect, I think I may have eased up on him a bit. It was hard because every time I gave him an inch, he'd take like 10 miles and then REQUIRE you to reel him back in, but I wish so badly that I could have found that magic formula to keep him balanced.

But... HE was the reason I wanted... NEEDED Winter Break so badly!

Now... my kids are on Winter Break and have been all week. I see now that Winter Break is exactly what I just described... a break for the TEACHERS :) The ones that need an extra week to keep pushing to the end of the year! Because it is certainly NOT a break for parents!!

I guess it is if you travel. But it's not like Spring Break... Spring Break is either about traveling to somewhere warm or enjoying the warm weather that is creeping up outside! It's all about fun trips to the park or beach or fun places like that!!

Winter Break... not so much! It's rained here almost all week. Yeah, we COULD have gone to the aquarium and such, but that stuff can really ADD up!!

So... I've tried to do some fun stuff. McDonalds for ice cream and the playground. Games of Candyland and the "Pirate Game." A trip to my nieces house for a visit. A sleepover party last night with our Best Friend "Della" aka Bella!

Whew!! So this is definitely NOT a "break" for me at least!!

I LOVE having them at home. But honestly, they're bored! Ready to play with their friends and it hasn't helped that we haven't been to the park or anywhere outside to play because it's yucky!

So let's just say that on this coming Tuesday... I can be found feet up on the couch enjoying MY winter break!! :)

Wishing everyone some warm thoughts!

K :)

Whew!! :)

Week 1 with Jen... and we're off to a GREAT start!!

So far: Master's Swim on Monday, My cycling class I teach followed by an hour T run on the treadmill (@ 1% thank you very much Jen and Bree!) late Tuesday night, followed by an EARLY wake up call this morning for my 10 x 100's Blow it Out!! swim test with a few 1 breath 25's just to top it off :)

I just finished my strength training this evening, and I'm feeling tired, but in that really good way. :) You know that, not too tired, but you feel like you've been working and really getting some where!!!

GOOD STUFF!!

Jen is also SOOO encouraging! All I've been talking about lately is really digging in and Pushing myself to the max! Well Jen tells me she's gonna force me there :)

So this morning when I'm headed to do my 10 x 100's swim test, I'm driving literally listening to Kanye West's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (just happened to come on the radio because some jr. league tennis player was going up against the national champion in the jr. league and wanted to hear it for inspiration. GO GABE whoever you are!). I thought... this is perfect!! So, I'm pumping myself up for pushing it into that Hurt Box for these 100's all the way to the aquatic center.

I get there, do my warm up, get ready... do my set and start jotting down my splits. I've got exactly 10 sec rest in between each, so not a lot of time to analyze what's going on. I just saw, ok... this isn't adding up. I'm doing WORSE than I've done in awhile. So, I keep going, pushing harder each time trying to hold on and not worry about that final number at the end of 4 laps! I finish up... disappointed. Thinking, "Great... the first time my coach asks me to push it and somehow I blow it."

I get home and record all my info for her and email her saying.. I'm sorry... I'm not really sure what happened. I swam at a place I'm not used to swimming at, and for some reason my 100 splits were just off.

She's like, no worries, it's not a big deal. Do you think the pool is long?

I'm like, OHHH, maybe that's it! I call the aquatic center, and sure enough, it is!! 25meters instead of 25 yards. Ok.. doesn't seem like a lot, but it's equivalent to 9 more yards/100. For me... that's like 6''/100 difference, and right now, that makes a difference to me! :)

But the point is even if I had blown up during the set, she was so cool about it and really encouraging and just THERE for me, and it made me feel good!

Not to mention that I spent an hour this afternoon on the phone with my new teamate and friend, Marit!! I LOVE her!! And I'm so excited about this new group and support team I've got going on!

The rest of the week... not so bad. A few more workouts, but mostly rest as I'm headed into a 10k this weekend and again... am going out there to try and Kick some Rear-end!!!

Happy Training!

K :)

Cleaning Out the Cobwebs!!

Well... though it may not feel like it outside, Spring is nearly approaching!! Spring in Georgia is actually kind of strange. March and April will have spurts where it will be REALLY cold, and there will be times where it could be REALLY hot. Since Cooper and Gracie both have birthday's in March and April, it makes planning birthday parties a little more complicated.

Considering they're so close together, they pretty much have the same little friends, and they're not old enough to know any better :), we tend to have combo parties... at least for now (well except for their first birthday's of course)! Last year I planned a party for the first week in April (midway between their birthdays), and it just so happened that that Sunday we had an ice storm! When we rescheduled for the next weekend or two, it was back in the 80's!!

So you never really know what to expect during those months!

However, as it turns out... I got a head start on my Spring Cleaning this year! I can't believe it, but we found a mouse in our house!!!!!!!!

I know.... I about died!!

I've never seen one outside of a glass box before, and needless to say, I WAS NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!!

Now... I know what you're thinking... "EW... What kind of filth do they live in :) !!

NOOO... I am a professed clean freak! To the point that I have to make the effort NOT to clean so much! Give me a vacuum cleaner, and I can go all day!!!

So.. the mouse brought out the best of my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder!

We're pretty sure he came in with some firewood. Usually, we bring it in one piece at a time, but when it got really cold recently, Adam brought in an entire bag. Well he was first spotted over near the bag and fireplace and made a bolt for the office! I went to Publix and bought a Mouse Catcher KIT!! This bad boy was loaded with like 12 different kinds of traps!!

Now, I must say... here is where the conflict came in. As much as it was freaking me out that this horrible thing was in MY house, I felt bad for him! I figured he was scared and freaking out too because he ended up in the wrong place!! Damn that Disney for making these little rodents seem so nice!! Adam was like, "Kellye, get a grip! It's a RODENT!!" I know, and as much as I didn't want him to die a horrible death, I wanted 100 x more for him to be out of my house!!

Well, I went to feed Rocky the other evening from my PANTRY nonetheless, and what do I see but the little furry thing scurrying away!! I SCREAM of course, and Adam immediately sets into motion. Ok... so how in the world do you catch a MOVING mouse!! We didn't want to lose him again.

Shop Vac!! We'll suck him up!! Ok... that didn't exactly work :)

Fortunately, he bolted into my laundry room and we locked him in there. We put tape under the door and sealed him in there with EVERY ONE of the traps!!

I figured he was scared. Rattled by his almost sudden fate with the suction vac!! So, we knew he'd probably lay low until things got quite.

Sure enough... come morning he was caught. In a glue trap!! This is the first mouse Adam and I have ever encountered, so we weren't really sure what to expect. Well thank goodness I was at Swim practice, because Adam "took care of the situation" while I was gone.

Ughhh!!! What a horrific situation!! I can NOT explain to you the anxiety level this caused me this weekend!! Between this horribly disgusting visitor spreading god knows what through my house, and dealing with this poor creature's not meaning to be disgusting's horrific death... all I have to say is at Physical Therapy last night they said my jaw was locked up and asked me if I'd been stressed????? Uh, yeah... A LITTLE!! :)

So.. the only good that came from it... My laundry room, pantries, floors, house..... SPOTLESS!!

I have disinfected, sanitized, washed, and scrubbed everything that the mouse could have POSSIBLY come into contact with AND everything that we could have touched after touching something that the mouse may have touched!! By now.. my house could be considered one of those bubbles that has to be 100% sanitized for people to survive in!! :)

I guess it goes with the theme lately of my recent goals: GET GOING, GOING, GOING!!! HARD CORE!!

So keeping the moment alive... I am so fortunate enough to say that I have the WONDERFUL opportunity to come aboard with Jen Harrison as my new coach! She's been so sweet and supportive to me as a friend in my blog world, and now she's going to take it one step further and "CLEAN OUT MY COBWEBS!!"

I am seriously VERY excited about the opportunity! Jen has SO much energy, it's impossible not to feed off of it :) PLUS... I think she's going to force me into my hurt zone... LIKE IT OR NOT!! :)

So here's to cleaning our houses, finances, cars, athletic careers, or anything else you need to get back into gear for the upcoming Spring/Summer season!

Happy Cleaning to you all!

K:)

The Tundra Time Trial

Well... the 2008 Race season has begun!

I had my first Race this past Saturday for 2008 and it was my VERY 1ST cycling race ever.

I was very excited about it because first of all as I just said it was my first cycling time trial and secondly because of the three sports of triathlon, cycling tends to be the one that I'm halfway decent at, so I wanted to see what I could do!

The Tundra Time Trial is a 9.5 mile out and back course on the Silver Comet. The Silver Comet is a cycling course that goes from Atlanta to Birmingham, and is a really cool place for locals (Despite a few unfortunate situations due to some sick people). I mean it's not just for cycling. People run, in-line skate, and do all sorts of exercise type activities on it! It is a narrow trail that appears to be flat but isn't entirely. But it's a great place to get out and do some speed work on the bike since you can just get out there and GO!!

Fortunately for us, the weather was actually unusual for the Tundra this year as it was actually pretty nice! Normally, it's raining and freezing and miserable. I went out early, so it was still a little chilly outside, but overall you couldn't have asked for a better day!

I read somewhere Michelle Jones say that you want to use every race as a learning experience. Well I can say I learned A LOT from this time trial!!

I did ok. I finished 5th in the Women's Cat IV and 7th overall with a finishing time of 26:17. However, as I sat there and watched as the other people I know finished I noticed something. Everyone was talking about how painful that was and how hard they pushed it, and though I was huffing and puffing when I crossed that finish line, I never felt like I was suffering, and I should have! Quite honestly, if you would have told me that I had to do another 5 miles, I could have done it and maintained the same pace, and as most of you probably know... it's not supposed to work that way!

Pacing is an issue for me. It's partly because I've spent the past almost 2 years constantly doing different races and different distances. So it seems every race is a First for me! :)

So it's constantly this... well it was your first and you didn't know how hard to push it. But I'm tired of that excuse!! Thanks to all for saying those encouraging things to me, but... I can't believe I'm about to say this...

I'm Ready to Suffer!!!

As Adam put it to me when I was expressing my disappointment with myself for not going out there and doing what needed to be done, he said, "Kellye, you've never finished a race where you had nothing left to give once you got to that finish line. You've got to figure out how to go out there and leave it all out on the course!" And he's exactly right!!

I said at the beginning of this year that the one thing I didn't do enough of last year was PUKE!! I know that may sound crazy, but in all seriousness... I have no idea what my PUKE pace is!! I've never pushed myself out there that hard.

So this year I'm done with doing OK. I want to go out there and learn to give it everything I've got! And if I bonk or don't finish with the time or place I'd hoped for, I at least want to be able to say that I could NOT have done any better!!

Here's to PUKING!!

K :)

The Blogger Swim Challenge!!

Well.... Today I learned the definition of the word CHALLENGE!! :)

I'm guessing that somewhere in that meaning means HARD as h...e... double hockey sticks!!

And is it safe to assume that it also has some sort of assumption that it may not be met on the first attempt because it is SOO challenging??? :)

For those of you not in "the loop", one of our dear Blogger Friends, Danielle aka. Pendergraham, decided to challenge herself with a set of 40 x 100's! And invited the rest of us to create a similar challenge and we'd cheer each other on. Well, today was the day I signed up to complete this swim challenge.

I decided to go with Danielle's computed 100 sets, just slightly tweaked. Beth had actually taken Danielle's sets and added 10 seconds to each as her variation. Looked good to me, so I decided to go with that.

Now a couple things to keep in mind...

1) I've certainly done 4000 yds in the pool. I trained for an IM which I think is somewhere around 4300, so it was kind of a requirement. However, I've NEVER done them in this sort of way. You know how master's works... 800 warm-up, 1200 pull-set, 1600 main set, etc or something of that nature. It's not.. ok... today we're swimming 4000... GO!! The most 100's I've ever done as one set are 10!

2) My fastest 100 right now is right around 1:30, which was the most challenging split on my list. I wanted to go with it, even though I had my doubts, because I figure if I keep pushing for that number, I'll get there! I can spit out 5 x 100's on the 1:30 ok. BUT... at the end of 40 x 100's???? That was the question. I figured I'd go for it anyways!

So... this morning I skipped my usual master's class, so that I would be able to do this challenge on my own in the Woodstock Aquatic Center. Last night was actually the first night all week that I had a decent night's sleep. Despite the fact that Cooper is now ill with who knows what, so that was a few wake-up calls, but generally, I got some decent rest!

Headed over to the pool, and warmed up for about 300 nice and easy. It's been a whole stinking week unfortunately since I've been in the pool, so I wasn't sure how I would feel, but I ended up feeling good!

I started out strong! Actually a little fast. Even to the point that I worked to SLOW down! So I wouldn't come out to hard. Although, when I'm fresh, I can do them more quickly than when I'm fatigued! The goal... to keep going with anywhere from 10-20 sec rest in between each one.

Well.. Here's a breakdown of my splits. As you can see, it didn't always go as I was pushing/hoping for.

Number of 100 Goal Time Actual Time Number of 100 GT AT

1. 1:45 1:34 21. 1:45 1:39

2. 1:45 1:36 22. 1:45 1:41

3. 1:45 1:37 23. 1:40 1:38

4. 1:45 1:38 24. 1:35 1:35

5. 1:40 1:38 25. 1:35 1:35

6. 1:40 1:37 26. 1:35 1:35

7. 1:40 1:37 27. 1:35 1:35

8. 1:35 1:35 28. 1:30 1:33

9. 1:35 1:35 29. 1:30 1:34

10. 1:30 1:30 30. 1:30 1:35

11. 1:45 1:41 31. 1:45 1:41

12. 1:40 1:40 32. 1:45 1:44

13. 1:40 1:39 33. 1:45 1:42

14. 1:40 1:39 34. 1:40 1:40

15. 1:40 1:39 35. 1:40 1:41

16. 1:35 1:35 36. 1:35 1:34

17. 1:35 1:35 37. 1:30 1:35

18. 1:35 1:35 38. 1:30 1:34

19. 1:30 1:32 39. 1:30 1:35

20. 1:30 1:30 40. 1:30 1:35

Ok... so as you can see, didn't hit a lot of the 1:30's. I got most of them in the first 2000, but after that, my arms just got tired and I couldn't pull as hard. Now, for fairness sake, I will say I was pushing it though! And Marit, I want you to know on those last 4 1:30's despite that I couldn't pull it off I swear I saw Dumbledore!!!

So, I'm not thrilled, but it's ok. I'm thinking that 1:30 is my magic number right now, and if I keep working at it, it will happen!

Thanks for reading, and thanks to my blogger friends for all of your support!!!

I'm cheering for all of you!!!

K :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Now I know there is that group of people out there that don't celebrate Valentine's because it is a "hallmark created holiday." Well...yes that may be true, but how bad is it that we take one day a year to let those around us that we love the most in the world know just how much we love them?? You're always hearing people say to cherish every moment that you can with your loved ones because you never know what tomorrow may bring.

Well... TODAY IS YOUR CHANCE!! :)

And even if you aren't Romantically involved with someone, there are LOTS of people that everyone is around each day that may like to hear just how much you appreciate them today!

So... what is Valentine's at the Mills House like today?

*I did NOT make my bed today for Rocky!! Every morning he can't enjoy the time he is up there for watching me to see when I am going to boot him off to make the bed. So today, I just left him there all morning, and I'm sure he appreciated it!

*I skipped my swim and went to Valentine's Day parties for the kids at school! I also got them some cupcakes with the rings on them from the grocery store that they've been begging me for for weeks!

*I'm going to make Adam a special dinner tonight and NOT get on my computer tonight while watching t.v. (NOTE: He's already gotten a Groundhog's Day Present! We're not made of $ so no V.D. present! :)

*My 10 days is over!! I celebrated with my Reese's Peanut Butter Heart, which was a little melted, but OHHH so very good!! And I can safely say I have NO desire for more sugar. THAT was A Lot it seemed!

*I'm also treating myself with some of Kellye $ with a "Royale Pedicure" . Ohhh, so very nice!

**Today is Marit's Birthday!! Happy Birthday Marit!!

And I hope everyone else out there has a wonderful Holiday!

And let me just say... I GREATLY appreciate all of my super awesome blogger friends for all your sweet words and support!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

K :)

Expecting the Unexpected!!

One thing I've heard over and over about race day is to expect things to not go as perfectly planned! Before Ironman, Carole said expect 5 things to happen that you hadn't planned for. Just to let me know, ok I'm going to have to be quick on my feet out there and be able to deal with things as they come up.

Well, the good news is... I get LOTS of practice in that department! If any of you out there need to train for the unexpected, let me know, and I'll let you borrow my kids for the day!

Every Tuesday evening I teach a cycling class at my gym. It also counts as part of my evening workout for that day, as I teach class and then do a quick 30 min brick run afterwards on the treadmill. I always like to leave my house around 5:30 to give myself 15 min before class to get set up, greet everyone, etc. And on evenings when Adam can't make it home by 5:30 in time for me to leave, I take Cooper and Gracie with me to the gym and they'll either go in the playcenter for a little bit until Adam can pick them up or he'll meet me in the parking lot and take them home.

Well... last night was one of those nights that Adam was going to meet me in the parking lot. My house is chaos as usual...feeding the kids, the dog, getting Cooper's homework done, packing all of my stuff, and leaving the place in a somewhat presentable manner! I finally get EVERYTHING loaded into the car except for Cooper who is finishing his "Q's." I leave Gracie in the car to run inside and hurry Cooper along when we head back to the car to discover that Gracie is playing one of her favorite games..."Lock Mommy Out!" Not one of my favorites if you can imagine.

It usually proceeds with Gracie locking the doors (car or house), I stand on the other side threatening and counting, she laughs, opens the door, and then gets scolded!

Well last night would have been similar except for the fact that my keys were in the car with her and she used THEM to lock it. See, my car has some sort of weird technology where depending on how and where you lock it depends on how you can unlock it!!

At first, I didn't realize she COULDN'T unlock it. So I'm standing there yelling at her probably where the entire neighborhood could hear! I'm not to fond of the game, and at this point, we're running late. Then I realize she CAN'T unlock it with the handle!

Panic sets in!!

I call Adam who is sitting in the parking lot at the gym!

Have you ever tried explaining to a 3 or 4 year old how to unlock a car with the keyless-entry?? Not as easy as it seems if you can't really show her! She kept wanting to press the LOCK button. Obviously... not helping matters!

I can't call any of the other team members, because my cell is in the car which contains all of their numbers.

And yes,... here is the biggest issue... THE SPARE IS IN MY CAR TOO!!

I KNOW!! I KNOW!!

Stupid, right?? Well, I use it when I ride with my friend so they'll have access to my car/our gear also.

However, I've learned my lesson about that!

So ultimately, I call BMW to figure out how in the world to get my daughter out of the car. He tells me that she has to hold down the unlock button for 15 sec continuously and it will automatically open. Not just push it. So, I'm standing in my garage with all of my neighbors around me telling Gracie, "Squeeze.... the button Gracie! Say... UHHHH!!"

And thank God, it opened!! Completely nerve racking experience! By now, it's 6pm, class has started, my replacement (Super Pam) showed up to fill in for me!

So... I spent my evening with an hour on the trainer and then had to head over to my neighborhood gym to get my run in as it was SUPER dark outside by the time I finished!

THAT...is what expecting the unexpected is all about!!

K :)

A Blast From the Past and a Look into the Future!

Yesterday I had one of those seeing myself in my daughter moments! Gracie participated in her very first ballet class!

We first went out to get her some ballet slippers. There is this little dance shop in downtown Woodstock that had everything a dancer would need. I walked in and was instantly carried back to memories of my many years of dancing.
My mother started me in ballet classes at the age of 3, and I continued dancing until the age of 15 when I decided I needed to dedicate my time to cheerleading and gymnastics! :)


I LOVED it though! It's so disciplined and yet soothing all at the same time. My favorite of course was pointe. The shoe is boxed at the toe, so it's not as if there is no support there. However, it is very challenging and HIGHLY competitive. Trying out for Jr. and Sr. companies and to get into camps can be extremely nerve racking, like any sort of competition.

These are pictures of me at my first ballet recital! I was the one squatting in this one. I was 3 at the time! Who knows if one of us was doing the wrong thing! :)

I'm the one right in the middle up front looking prissy!

The one thing about ballet is that unfortunately, it really isn't something that can necessarily just be learned. It does require a certain type of body. Height won't necessarily make or break you, BUT it helps to be taller. The movements are all about length and lines and the shorter you are, the less length you have! :) The one thing it DOES require... you have to be thin. I mean obviously not at Gracie's level or even up through some of high school. But if you want to move forward with it, you better be tiny. And honestly, maybe I'm biased, but I think ballerinas have some of the most beautiful bodies. They're strong and muscular, but yet so feminine. It's actually a shame that it can produce a lot of eating disordered women competing over lead roles.

And you know what's funny... I would actually be spending MORE time dancing as a professional dancer than I would as a professional triathlete. Those girls dance 8-10 hours a day everyday. Broken toes and all!! Maybe one of the reasons I decided NOT to pursue it as a career! :) That and you have no life and you're broke as can be!

So anyways, Gracie LOVED her class as well! She walked right in and was comfortable the entire time! It helped that she thought she looked BEAUTIFUL, which she did :), and I watched her almost the entire time and she danced and sang and had a blast!

That is of course my intent with this as well. I'm not one of those parents that will push her to become a prima-ballerina because I missed my shot! :)

She loves to dance and prance around the house, and so I figured she was ready to take her skills to the stage! :)

As far as the future...

Gracie is definitely my girlie-girl! I'm not 100%. I mean can you be a triathlete and be all girlie too?? But... as my sister would describe me... I'm Bubbly! SO... I guess Gracie and I are a good fit!

Also about the future... the Diet Coke cut back is going ok. Might be better if I went cold turkey, but still working on the moderation thing. I've noticed that it's my rest days that I want/have time to drink more than one, so we'll work on that for next Monday!

And as far as my treats go... well it's been 8 1/2 days, with 1 1/2 to go!! No cookies, no candy (I mean not as much as one M & M), no cake, no muffins, donuts, NADA!! Just so happens that my 10 days is over just in time for Valentine's Day. I plan on celebrating with my favorite candy ever... a big Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Heart with Double the Peanut Butter! 300 cal. I'll savor every moment and then hopefully will get my fill for at least a week or so!

Until next time... Keep cherishing your moments!
K :)

Weird Things About Rest Days!

(FYI: This picture is not from today. It was taken after my very first Race EVER!! The Peachtree Road Race on July 4, 2000. )

1) When do you shower? Every other day my showers revolve around my workouts. On rest days, sometimes I'll be sitting there at night and it will hit me that I haven't showered today! :)

2) Getting Dressed: To walk into my closet, put on a shirt and a pair of jeans (not workout clothes), and regular shoes and NOT to have to pack 14 other outfits for running, biking, swimming, and post-workout clothing... it's just strange! You mean I get to wear this for the ENTIRE day??

3) Playing a "Up The Stairs, Down The Stairs" game with an 18 month old who doesn't know how to come down the stairs... doesn't count as rest I don't think. :) Neither does grocery shopping, escorting to ballet practice, cleaning, laundry, cooking, dishes, etc.... :)

4) Eating: Ok, so I'm supposed to eat a normal breakfast (not just a small snack before swim at 5am and then another snack afterward), a snack, then lunch at the reg. time (not 2 when I get off the bike), another snack, and then dinner at the table?? Is this how it works in the "real" world? :)

5) And Speaking of Eating: Weird how you can workout for 6 some odd hours straight AFTER doing a hard swim, spending all of your time on the bike consuming about 250 calories/hr of gels, P. B. and J. sandwiches, and Gatorade Endurance to get finished and be in desperate need of recovery calories, but not be hungry in the least. Yet you spend a day not working out, and your STARVING!! ?? Must really be something to exercise being an appetite depressant! :)

6) If this is my rest day, why am I so stinking tired?? :)

7) Why don't my kids understand that I'm supposed to nap with my feet up while listening to soft, calming music and drinking lots of water and eating nutritious food!!?? :)

Albeit weird and not entirely restful, it was very much needed and very much enjoyed!! :)

Here's back to the life of a triathlete/mom/event coordinator/all of the other things I do tomorrow!

Happy Rest days to you all!

K :)

A Weekend of Mixed Emotions!

Relaxation: As I sat in the coffee shop updating my blog and just sort of chilling after dropping the kids off at school on Friday. I had from 9-10am to relax before the aquatic center opened!

Disappointment: My mother was ALWAYS late! I used to sit on the sidewalk with the teacher as the LAST kid to be picked up telling myself that I wouldn't be late as an adult! ha ha... maybe it's a gene or something. No matter how hard I try, I am late A LOT! Not really from picking my kids up, but just getting things done in general. I think it's because I try to get TOO MUCH done in one day, but regardless... no excuses for why I got started with my swim later than I should, but I ended up pushing it time wise and having to cut my swim short... NOT happy with myself about that!

Regret: Cut swim short so I could hurry home and do a one hour run in my neighborhood. Supposed to be an AT run. But I ended up running it too hard. I knew I had towards the end. My neighborhood is VERY hilly, and I'm trying to get stronger and faster on them. Well, I let my hr get out of zone once or twice to finish making it up some of the tougher hills, and then it just ended up wanting to stay too high. I averaged out ok, but just had that feeling that I had pushed it too much. So I felt bad about it afterwards.

Relaxing Pain :) Yes, in my eyes there is such a thing. A friend of mine is finishing up her studies to become a certified Massage Therapist. She sent out a special offer, and of course, I jumped at the opportunity. I wanted to get all of my working out in for the day before our appt. together, so I could recover afterwards. So it was an hour of relaxation mixed in with pain that I knew would ultimately make me feel better!! :)

Family Bonding: Coming home from my massage we spent sometime working with Cooper on riding a bike without training wheels and taking a walk. Our training walk was fun and happy!

More Relaxing Pain :) On to the Physical Therapist for some more grinding muscle work!! Though, they make it fun and cool so you'll come back!

Comfort: Finished the long day with a meal from one of my favorite Cuban restaurants, Papis! Good traditional grilled chicken, rice, and plantains!! Yum..!!

Laughter and Love: Spent Friday night doing one of my very favorite things... lying in bed watching Friday night Stand up Comedy on Comedy Central with Adam!!

Excitement: Master's Swim went awesome on Saturday morning! We did a hard, long swim and then had 5 x 100's to do holding at goal pace. Last year, my very first year or swimming, I was doing well coming in on 1:40-1:45. This year, I'm pushing for the 1:30 mark, though we had decided in our lane to make 1:35 our goal. I was nervous as I was leading our lane. Didn't want to hold back the other ladies who were pushing it hard. First one... 1:30!! Awesome! My personal goal pace, and faster than our expectations. #2... 1:30 again!! Whoo, hoo!! Ok.. now getting more nervous. Afraid the last 3 will head down hill. #3... 1:30! #4 1:30 again!! We're excited! I know that's not "Fast", but it was for us! So #5 we're ready to give it all we got. I'm trying to pace myself and keep control, come in 1:29!! Super excited!

Pain and More Disappointment: Right after swim I head over to the river for my long run for the weekend. 1:40 on tap. Basically for me equates to roughly 3.5 loops. Warm-up for the first one, feeling tired. I'm like, "Crap... I knew I pushed it too hard yesterday." Second lap, hook up with a friend and try to start pacing myself without letting the fatigue get to me. Third lap: only word that describes it... PAIN. My feet sometimes just get strangely, painfully, numb. There was a point in time that I thought, "Ok... there must be a rock in my shoe jabbing my foot. There's no way that pain is generating from no where!" Pushed the best I could, but cut it short at 1:35. Decided there was no sense in pushing out a last painful 5 min and risk injury. I never know when to push or back off. I figured 1:35 pretty much accomplished what I was supposed to. It wasn't that I can't handle 1:40, I was just having an off run. ???

Gratefulness: After spending all morning swimming and running, I come home to Adam whom I've promised some "Adam time" to this afternoon. He lets me come home, shower, eat, and then gives me extra time to even lay down and take a nap before taking over with the kids!!

Motherly: I Promised Cooper and Gracie a trip to the playground Sat. afternoon because it was so pretty outside. We spent a long time having fun on the swings, bouncy walkway, etc. I LOVE my times with the kids where we just play! :)

Exhaustion: By the end of Sat. I was BEAT!! This was supposed to be a rest week, but in meeting with Coach Carole on Tuesday, we decided to forego it for another 3 week block. At the time seemed like a fine idea, questioning it by now! :)

Guilt: Sunday was supposed to be another beautiful day in Georgia, and I had a 3 hour ride followed by a 40 min run scheduled. I had planned to ride over at the Bud plant, but I just didn't feel like a big bike excursion. You know... load everything up, drive over there, unload, workout, recover, drive home, etc.... I was like, how can I waste such a great opportunity for a beautiful bike ride in February?? But, Cooper had his first baseball practice, and I wanted to be there, and decided, there'd be more beautiful days to come.

Frustration: As soon as we get to the baseball park, utter chaos sets in! Gracie has to go potty, and all of the ones close to our field are locked. So we make this huge trek as quickly as possible (most 3 year olds don't tend to give much notice) to the next restroom that is occupied FOREVER!! Once that is finally taken care of, we head back to the baseball field to discover that Cooper is kind of freaking and doesn't want to play. No one is having any luck with him, including Adam, so I talk to him. Guess what worked?? A bribe!! If he goes and practices, we'll go into "the red gas station", (QT) and he can get TWO treats!! Nothing else needed to be said. He was ready to play!

Pride: Ok, in the good sense I think. Cooper was so stinking cute out there playing baseball, and he had a blast!! I was VERY proud of him!! GO ORIOLES!!

*itchy!: Ok, so yeah, it's about that time if you know what I mean, and I was pretty grumpy this afternoon! I got more irritated with Adam about letting his golf game run late than I should have. Opps... Sorry! :)

Determination: Ok, so I didn't make it to Cartersville, but that wasn't going to keep me from getting done what I needed to accomplish. So as soon as we got home... I headed upstairs to set up the trainer! I was actually pretty glad that I didn't ride. It was CRAZY windy outside, so it would have been a pain anyways.

Zoned: Pushing zone 2 on the trainer and then z3 sets while tuned into the first season of The O.C. on my laptop. I had a GREAT 2 hour ride!

Excited: Ok... off the bike and scheduled to do a 40 min pace run. Decided to do it in the flattest part of my neighborhood accessible from my house. It's just small hills. Start running, and I'm feeling great and fast!!

Worried: Run... maybe started to fast. Can feel the fatigue setting in and my hr is up there with about 20 min to go!

Doubt: Ok. I'm 25 min in and I'm hurting. I'm running faster than I was supposed to, but I'm still trying to figure out the whole pace thing. I'm doubting if I can hold on esp. with some of the hills for another 15 min.

Pain/ Fear: I don't know if I can make it. My mind is trying to convince me that I started too hard. That I can't do it!

Absolute Amazement: I finished and held the pace the entire time! I honest to god didn't think I had it in me. To finish something that felt so hard... complete amazement!

Happiness: In finishing my run, I cooled down with a walk up the hill to my house. By this time it was completely dark outside, and I was listening to Snow Patrol. It was one of those surreal moments where everything was just calm. I thought about the week, and how hard I'd worked. Thought about my rest day tomorrow and how glad I was for it, and was just overcome with emotion and even teared up, in a good way!

Content: Sitting on my couch, showered, fed, and feeling good about life in general!!

K :)

Training for Disney... in the Non-traditional Way!

So as of right now, my A race is the Florida 70.3 race which takes place at Disney in Orlando, Florida. That is the race that I did last year in order to get my spot into Ironman Florida. Worked out perfectly as last year in May, Cooper had just turned 4, Gracie was 3, and we took our first trip into the Wonderful World of Disney!

After our first 1/2 day in the park, we promptly visited Wally-world to get some umbrella strollers. Had no idea how badly we would need those things!!

Well considering I'm once again doing that race this year, and we're in the "prime" Disney years, we're making it a family vacation and will be spending several days with Mickey and Friends!

Today was a Beautiful day in Georgia! Sunny, and a high in the low 60's! So of course, we wanted to get outside and enjoy some sunshine! We took the kids and Rocky with their bikes for a walk in our neighborhood. Now in fairness, I will mention that my neighborhood is VERY hilly! So, we normally only take the pug for a stroll knowing that he has to tackle a decent hill in order to get home.

Well since his fitness level has waned some with the cold weather, we decided to keep it short and sweet. We started more towards the top of the hill to get everyone organized and together. (A walk with a 4 year old, 5 year old, and pug takes preparation!)

We went down one street which is downhill and then decided to turn around. Total distance... approximately maybe 4/10 of a mile. Gracie and Rocky were walking, and Cooper was riding a bike. Well once we decided to turn around and started heading up an incline (not too bad of a hill), everyone totally puckered out!!

Rocky kept parking it in people's yards to take a breather! Gracie was moving slowest of all and complaining of how tired she was and she just wanted to go home and watch, "T.B. aka television!" Cooper wouldn't ride the bike uphill!

Adam and I were laughing, and then Adam said that we were going to have to start them all on a training program for Disney! We're not completely expecting them to walk around the entire time. The strollers WILL be taken along with us, but come on... we can do better than that!

And it's not like my kids are totally lazy either. Immediately afterwards, we noticed several other kids playing in the street and they ran right along with them climbing all over the playset, etc...

However, when it comes to the walking, they just DON'T want to do it!!

So.. apparently I won't be the only one "Training" for Disney this year! We're going to start having regular walks to prep these little monsters to endure a little more than a quarter-mile downhill walk!!

Until Next Time...

K :)

My Favorite Down Time... T.V.!!

Ok... so I know that there's this whole, "Too much t.v. is bad for you" mentality. And NO... I would not consider myself a couch potato. :)

I read, workout in what I consider is plenty, spend time with my family, etc., etc., etc.

BUT... 8pm hits, and I'm exhausted from a full, non-stop day, and I just want to crash and clear my mind with some entertaining, no thought required good television! :)

Adam is a big t.v. person as well, and I have to say Thank God for DVR!! I resisted in the beginning. Just some fancy new gadget Adam wanted I presumed. But without it, there would be no t.v. in the Mills Household! And life without commercials....oh, so nice!

So we have a full docket of our shows: 24, Desperate Housewives, American Idol, Amazing Race, The Office, The Shield, Survivor, Chuck, and Heros...

We're not HUGE reality t.v. fans, but we've watched Survivor, American Idol, and Amazing Race from the beginning and we love them!!

And speaking of Survivor... the new season begins tonight!! When there's a writer's strike going on, that's when we can all be grateful for reality t.v.!! :)

I will admit also that "watching" the majority of the t.v. that I do being on Cartoon Network, Nick Jr., PBS and what not, I actually do have some of those shows that I like! Boomerang is classic cartoons that I grew up with. So it's always fun to watch those and remember watching them as a kid. And a lot of times you're like, "Oh My Gosh... I liked this???"

However, my favorite cartoons is Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, My Fairly Odd Parents, and a new favorite... The Mr. Men's Show!

It's a show based off of the classic Mr. Men's Books, and would you guess that my FAVORITE is Miss Sunshine!!
If she can't brighten your day, I don't know who can??

If you go to this link, select shows, and then The Mr. Men's Show... there is this really cute clip show called Physical. It's about working exercise into your daily life and I thought it was funny. Especially the part where Mr. Strong is on the treadmill at the gym!!
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/index.html?applicationType=browser

So, I'm completely losing my patients with this writer strike and it needs to end gosh darnit!!

However, tonight I'll be singing, "Ohh way ohh way ohh way ohh way ohhh way ohh.... ohh way ohh wayy, ohh... ohh....ohh....ohhh!"

Happy t.v. watching!!
K :)

My Diet Coke NIGHTMARE!!

JUST YESTERDAY... What did I say?? No sugary treats for 10 days!

Challenge in and of itself, right?

And honestly I was thinking, ok, no big deal. If I have a craving for something sweet, fruit or Diet Coke will take care of it for me!

I met with my coach this morning, and what does she tell me, "Kellye...You should really cut back on the Diet Coke."

Ok... this is the point where ALARMS are going off in my head!!

Is she telling me something I don't already know? NO

I KNOW that I drink WAY too much! I KNOW it most likely contributes to my little sugar addictions even though it doesn't contain sugar. I read somewhere that it decreases your taste buds ability to recognize when you've "over done it" in the sugar department.??

I KNOW it has caffeine, which in my defense, I've read isn't horrible in that stupid word...Moderation!!

Here's the problem. In talking to her about my heart rate and it's usual patterns, she asks me if I think I'm hydrating properly throughout the day. Ok... I'm not, and I know it. I am GREAT at drinking properly immediately before/during/ and after workouts. But once I switch my hat from athlete over to Mom, Wife, or whatever else I need to be, that's when I make the switch to my love... DIET COKE!!

SO.... I know she's right. I've known it for awhile.

BUT... It's my THING!

I'm not really a drinker beyond a nice glass of wine or two. I gave up smoking back in college. I have my sugar habit, but for the most part, I eat well. I go to bed at a decent hour each night generally. I FLOSS DAILY for goodness sake.

Diet Coke is my ONE THING!!

I gave it up for 9 months while being pregnant with Cooper. And as sad as it makes me to say it... I'm going to try to let it go for this training season as well :(

NOT completely.... One a day!! That's my motto. (See what Carole doesn't even realize is that when I say I'm drinking several a day... that's several BODC's. We're not talking 12ozers here! She'd probably DIE if she knew the truth!!)

So... note the sales in the Diet Coke Industry today, because it will most likely show a significant drop over the next 6 months or so. I probably could personally handle the majority of their Atlanta market!!

HOWEVER... Just as important Cooper and his health was to me when I gave it up before, Triathlon is like my new baby! I LOVE it, and I want to be capable of doing my VERY best this year!

So... goodbye BODC. :( You will be oh so missed!

My one a day will probably turn into some sort of ritual now. It will become my Kellye Time. No interruptions when it's just me and my Diet Coke!

I'm just going to have to start wearing my Diet Coke T-shirt instead :(

Until next time!

K

Confessions of a Sugar Addict!

I've mentioned before that I lived a period in my life without any "treats." I mean we're talking YEARS!

I promised myself I would never do that again, and would vow to strive for a life in moderation.

I will admit though...being a teetotaler was easier! I am MUCH better at just denying myself something rather than trying to figure out what amount and how often of something I "should" eat.

So, I tend to go through spurts. I'll have times that I just don't really think about it or crave it very much. Then my ENORMOUS sweet tooth will kick in, and I'll allow myself something because it's ok, and I've worked hard, and I eat well otherwise, so it's fine.

BUT... then I'll start to notice that this occasion pops up, and then another, and then before I know it I'm indulging several times a week!

THEN... I will finish lunch (well balanced, healthy meal) and have a real urge for something SWEET! And we're talking cookies, cake, donuts...you know... the GOOD stuff!

Anytime I start to notice this little pattern, otherwise known as my body literally craving it's afternoon or evening sugar fix, I know I have to do something to break that pattern.

Think... "Seinfeld" when Elaine gets addicted to her 3pm sugar fix and ultimately ends up indulging in a CRAZY ridiculous vintage cake!!

SO... after brining in cookies, donuts, and finally my Groundhog's Day Cake, Adam (who would also like to lose a few) agreed NO more treats for 10 days!!

For me, this works well. It allows my body to process what's left in there and get to where it isn't expecting those usual sugar fixes. Eventually, I'm back to square one of not even thinking about it or wanting it again.

Some may think crazy cycle! Give it up all together! Been there done that, and I want to be able to share a cupcake or ice cream with my kids.

I'm just hoping that my checks and balance system will keep me from blowing up like a balloon!

And it's funny how many opportunities I have and how many times I "caught" myself today!

Today was my sister's birthday, so I went to visit her. I swung through Starbucks on the way to her house to get her her favorite drink, a Venti White Chocolate Mocha! Ooh... a java light frappuccino sounds really good!! Not loaded with calories, but empty calories nonetheless, so, nope to that!

Missed a snack during the afternoon. I'll just grab a candy bar on the way home... NOPE, that wouldn't be good!

Did I mention it was a BIRTHDAY party?? Cake and Ice Cream... NOPE and NOPE!!

So, I did well, and it wasn't too difficult. Like I've said, this isn't a new thing for me. But goodness!! CRAP is everywhere isn't it!

So... at least 9 more days of no treats!!

If I'm a little grumpy in the next few days... I apologize in advance! :)

Here's to Healthy Eating!

K :)

How Triathlon and Budweiser are Similar...

Not sure how many of you guys watched the Super bowl tonight, but early on there was the best Budweiser commercial where one of the Clydesdale horses didn't make the cut for the team in 2007. So, a dalmatian gets him fired up and the dalmatian and the horse train all year to get strong for next season.

After a lot of hard work, he makes the cut!!

I LOVED the commercial. It reminded me of all of us crazies out there training hard to "make the team" for the upcoming season!!

So... Thanks to Budweiser for the encouragement!!

Oh BTW: Did anyone see the Toyota Sequoia commercial with all of the people racing down hills on Big Wheels?? THAT would be SUPER fun!! Where can I sign up for a race like that??

For those of you who missed any of them...

http://www.myspace.com/superbowlads

Check out the best part of the Super Bowl... the commercials here!

Go Hank the Clydesdale!!
K :)

Happy Groundhog's Day!!

Believe it or not, Groundhog's Day is kind of special in our family!

Many years ago, when Adam and I were much younger :) and after we'd been dating awhile, he cracked some joke about Groundhog's Day being his favorite holiday! He thinks he's funny :), and says stupid things like that often (i.e. favorite veg. on pizza...cheese)!

I honestly can't remember what my thoughts were exactly at that time, but I decided that year to celebrate Groundhog's Day!

Guys always gripe about Valentine's Day being made for women. And even though I had always celebrated Valentine's Day for him as he had for me, I kind of thought that this would be his own special day.

Not to mention... how many people celebrate Groundhog's Day??!!

So, each year I always do something special. I try to correlate the theme around what Punxsutawney Phil predicts. One year he said 6 more weeks of winter, so I put together this whole Winter themed package with books and a scarf and movies and stuff like that. I've also done Spring things, like one year I signed us up for a 6 week tennis course! (Yeah... my hand-eye coordination is not NEAR what it should be :)!

Typically I do some sort of dessert that he likes. This year I decided on a Groundhog's Day Cake since Devil's Food Cake is his favorite! I have always enjoyed creating different kinds of cakes!
(*This really didn't turn out 100% as I had envisioned :)...Oh Well, you live and learn :)

Since Punxsutawney Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter for this year, and we're planning on going skiing in March, I decided on a pair of sunglasses for our ski trip. He has a super-duper Rx, so I couldn't get them for today, but they should be ready in time. (And... kind of worked out because sunglasses are a ski/winter necessity AND for summer, so I kind of cheated :)

Anyways, I really like that we celebrate this day. Kind of separates Valentine's Day a bit too, and it's just something out of the ordinary. I figure it's nice to celebrate the small things in life too!

Happy Groundhog's Day to you all!!
K :)

I Did It, I Did It, I Did It, Hooray!!

Ok, so only if your a fan of Dora the Explorer would you probably get the title reference! :)

Today is February 1st, and I am proud to announce that I successfully completed my money challenge!!

And thank God it's February 1st! :) Don't think I could have gone much further!!

In all seriousness, it was a true eye-opening experience. We have a theory that "You Spend what You have" no matter how much that is. And it amazes me how much money we/I have wasted away over the years on just junk. Not only is buying less fast food and junk going to help my pocketbook, I hope it may help me fit into those briefs as well :)

So though its Feb. 1, and I am relieved, I don't plan on abondoning my new practices completely. It's funny how dropping $5 at the gas station on lolipops and stuff used to be absolutely no big deal. Now I'm like, "Whoa... that sucker's $2, No Way!"

Hopefully, if we can continue some of these new habits, our checking account will thank us at the end of the year! And we'll have the money to do things we didn't think we could before because we chose a Super-Duper vacation instead of McDonalds everyday!!

Best of luck to all of you and your wallets!

K :)