madameblogalot

Now that our local video store is block-”busted”, we are going to have to figure out a new way to watch movies! Suffice it to say that we are thoroughly stuck in the ’90s and were still renting movies on video when the mood hit us. We only went digital because it was required. We don’t have cable TV or satellite. We don’t know how to tivo. We’ve never rented movies through the mail or from a red box. So….

I was glad to hear about a free online movie site. I knew you could watch some things online, we have watched an old Abbot and Costello bit before. But knowing there is a website where we can watch good quality, fast streaming free movies online is a plus for us. We have a decent monitor and watching online will be no problem. Except that now my husband wants to mount the screen on the ceiling above the bed….

Race results are in and posted online. Here is how I finished in my Olympic distance biathlon:

tri age- 43

25 mile bike- 1:33:31

transition- 2:48

6.2 mile run- 1:01:03

overall time- 2:37:15

I was 34 out of 54 in my age group. Not great but the times are about what I hoped for. I think my run would be an hour if I had not stopped before the official finish line! And my bike is not bad considering I had a flat!

It’s getting that time of year to get new sunglasses . I got some new ones before my triathlon. My old ones were all scratched up. I had gotten a new pair last summer but lost them in the ocean off Padre Island! The new sports sunglasses helped during the cycling portion of the triathlon. Of course they helped to shade the sun but they also kept bugs out of my eyes! And, just as importantly, they did not give me a headache.

My husband must have good sunglasses all the time-cycling, golfing, driving, anytime outdoors. He has an eye condition which lets too much light into his eye. He makes sure to get a good pair of sunglasses that hopefully last a while (assuming that no unnamed teens crush them in the car door or step on them!)

And now my daughter has decided she needs a pair of sunglasses for camp. No, these are not the stylishly cool glasses that many teens purchase (or maybe they are!) These are big, colored frames that my daughter is hoping will produce laughs!

As summer approaches, whatever your needs, now is a great time to get your new sunglasses!

Well after all is said and done, it was a bit disappointing! We knew it would likely rain. It did rain really early and only lightly then. At a few minutes til race time, for the sprint race to begin, the wind really picked up. They decided for an official 15 minute delay. After a bit, we decided to head back to transition to wait. My transition area was on the next to last row. My husband was a few rows ahead of me, but on the end so that was pretty cool. Another very cool thing happened in transition, that I had learned of the night before. There is another local lady who is a triathlete as well as a blogger. As I was reading her thoughts of the upcoming race, I saw that her bib number was the one right next to mine! We would be stationed across from each other in transition! Pretty cool to meet a fellow blogger!

The wind remained strong for a little while. (We later heard that a small tornado hit a nearby area at the time!) I guess maybe around 7:30 they announced that the day’s events would become a dualathlon (actually a biathlon), they were cutting out the swim. The wind was so strong that they could not keep the bouys aligned. I also heard in the ranks that the water looked worse (more choppy) than it had at a recent tri a couple of weeks ago. I wondered that if the wind was that strong, how were we going to cycle in it! (early morning, the wind had been gusting up to 65mph!!)

The way they started us was a “time trial” start. They released us by rows and each individual started three seconds apart. I did not start until after 9am, which is probably not far from what my swim start would have been (I was in the last wave.) That meant that there were lots of cyclists close together along the course. I think they had to be a little more lenient on the “drafting” rules since everyone was so close together.

I was doing really well (for me) on the ride. Feeling good. Going faster than I had expected. Just after the turn around, I had a flat! It was the same tire that went flat last weekend! At least this time I knew what to do. Although I could not believe it, I did not panic but pulled over and just got to work. I got the wheel off no problem this time. It took me some time to get the tire off the rim. I was getting a little frustrated but just calmed down and started over. Just as I got the tube pulled out, Ironman Support came up. They are official and can help with no disqualification or penalty. He finished up the job for me, aired it up (saving me my co2), and gave me another tube “just in case”. By then I was the last cyclist!

I could not even see any of the others who had passed me by. Then, as I came up on mile 15, I saw a white jersey! I was going to catch that one! and I did! I ended up passing around 10 of 12 people on the way back in and was very happy about that. I think I still had a decent time, even counting the flat. (I also saw a snake coming onto the road! a thin but long grass snake!! ugh!!!! but I just scared him back around…didn’t have time to freak out about it!)

I made it back to transition. All through the ride, my shoe was too tight and my foot was falling asleep, so I made sure to loosen my lace a bit, grabbed my hat and knee brace (I got a new one that completely opens up which was helpful!) and took a potty stop. Then headed out.

I felt very slow and heavy on the run, and I could not catch my breath. It took me a long time to really catch my breath-like four miles! The water I took at the very first station was too cold-had ice in it and felt bad on my stomach! but I just kept going, slow and steady. It was getting really warm too. (not as warm as it had been while I was in Singapore, but warmer than it’s been.) I felt very thirsty but did not want to drink much. I even felt as if I might have to do some walking, but I kept going with the slow and steady and made it through the whole six miles at a jog! My foot/leg never really bothered me. This could be though because I was having some other discomfort by then.

As I came to the finish line I was right up with another lady, a 33 year old (our ages are marked on the back of our legs.) I took off and passed her to get to the finish sign. Then I started walking and she sped up and passed me. I thought “huh?” then I saw the timing pad! I hadn’t finished! So I jogged up to it. And yet, that was not the finish either! I had to jog up to the official finish gate! I was mad by then! but I finished (Duh!! I should KNOW what the finish line looks like!) I have no idea on my time as I did not wear my watch and don’t know my official starting time. I think I did ok, but probably not the one hour run time I wanted.

After I finished a friend we had met led us to the food tent. I did not feel good, light headed and not ready to eat. I made myself eat anyway. That did not sit well. Went back to transition. By then not feeling too good. I took my recovery drink and some ibuprofen but think I just waited too long. Even my husband felt a bit nauseous by the time we got home and his legs were cramping (he went really hard on his bike and he said it really hurt his run. He thinks he may have had a 12 minute run pace, which is really slow for him. He had leg cramps and had to do some walking. He is VERY disappointed!) When I got home I just laid on the bathroom floor until I could finally relax a bit and tried to breathe deeply. Then I decided on a very hot bath, just to calm me down. After that I laid down and slept about an hour.

Then I felt much better. It took me a while to get my appetite back, but when I did, I could not stop eating and drinking!!

After all, we are a little disappointed but it was still a good day overall. How would we have been if we had swam? My husband thinks it would have been better-stretched our legs out, etc. We just wonder if all our training was “right” or enough. We feel like this week was not enough and should have done a bit more to keep the muscles fresh and ready. But it’s hard to tell. I do think I had a good ride (the wind by then had really lessened!) and the weather really cleared up. And, we are already signed up for our next one!

can’t sleep. (husband already been up an hour!) abdominal cramps! (hope my new experiment works!) foot feels rested. hungry! new knee brace. body glide! transition. picky rules. nerves. anticipation. excitement. weather?? warm up. stretch. foam roller before? ice foot? have fun!

This last week before the triathlon has been a tapering week. That just means that we do little exercise and focus on resting up before the race! We have also had our bikes cleaned and serviced and ready for the big day! I am glad I had my bike fixed up too as there were several things wrong, things that could have been dangerous. I have gotten in my last run, bike and swim in for the week. And my husband had a flat tire on his bike today! I am hoping that neither of us will get a flat during the race. Now it’s all about getting rested, energized, fueled, hydrated and psyched up for the race day!

As hurricane season draws near, folks look to get things in order. Ordering hurricane proof windows or storm window covers are usually a top priority. Getting insurance in order has become a new priority for folks in this area too. Making sure that flood insurance is in place is pretty much a necessity where we live. Assuring that you have all insurance-homeowner’s insurance, renter’s insurance and contents insurance-are all important. I know that we also take pictures of each room from time to time to help make sure that we have all contents covered.

We have learned that even outside of hurricane season, it’s important to make sure that our contents insurance is in order. This is something we have dealt with a couple of times when our house had some flooding due to appliances or plumbing.

Whatever season it is, it’s always a good idea to make sure all your insurance coverage is in place.

One week til our Olympic distance triathlon! We had a really good training day today, the last long workout before tapering down in prep for race day.

We drove down to Galveston to try to swim in the bay at Moody Gardens. They really did not want us swimming there. So we swam just outside the fenced off area near the Colonel paddle wheel boat. It is the bay and pretty much open to the public. So with four of us swimming we thought it would be all right. My husband took off and swam the entire half mile across the bay, by himself! Our friend who has been in the Navy took off pretty much on his own too. My female friend and I tried to stay together. It was a pretty good swim and I am really glad we got to practice at the site where the race will take place. I was glad to get to try out my new wetsuit too.

After our swim we met up with the tri4Him group (a Christian triathlon group) for a cycle down the seawall. Since we are all competing in different distances next weekend, we rode out ten miles and then back ten miles. It was a pretty good ride. Great going out, with the wind. Harder against the wind coming back in. About 2 or less miles from our starting/finishing point, I got a flat tire! The group stopped and one of the guys talked me through changing my tire (it’s been a while since I’ve done it and I am glad it happened today so I could go back through it. Hopefully it won’t happen next week.)

To top it all off, we stopped for some hamburgers! On our way home, we dropped our bikes off at the bike shop for overall servicing to get them race-ready!

It’s almost tri time!

While in Singapore, we were blessed to be there on my sister’s birthday. She decided to spend it my doing a book launch for her first poetry book, Cyborg Chimera, even though it was still Chinese New Year. As we made plans the excitement built. We planned the food and cakes. My sister planned the schedule. It turned out that all of her neices/nephews and godchildren were there with her except one. Because her poetry book is dedicated to all of these children, she thought it would be perfect to have each one select and read a poem during the book launch. The youngest child is two, so his auntie read his poem for him. And the oldest nephew, age 17, was not in attendance. He did the next best thing. He sent a video of himself reading his selected poem! It was the perfect touch!

Everyone had a grand time feasting on the good food, enjoying the desserts, meeting my sister’s friends and colleagues, and listening to the poem selections read aloud!

If you would like to hear some samples of the poems and to see the table of contents, check the website.

To see a few photos from the book launch, check out this blog.

As the end of the fiscal year draws near,there are many people are looking to get all the tax credits they possibly can. I just learned that the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers has recently been expanded to include current home owners who have lived in their home for five of the last eight years consecutively. It sounds interesting, particularly for those who are seriously looking to move anyway. I wonder though why this tax credit was extended and expanded. Are people not interested? Are people not moving? Is it hard to qualify for the tax credit? It seems that qualifying is not too difficult according to the standards found on the website. Take a look at the short video found on the website for a brief over view of the tax credits being offered. Here you can learn the basic facts about the home buyers tax credit plan.

If interested in taking advantage of the tax credit extension/expansion your contract must be written by April 30, 2010 with closing completed by June 30. The tax credit is good for married couples with some credits being offered for singles as well.