Son bon pour être à la maison.

Its good to be home. I havent had any time this week to do anything much less write about it! my 8 days in paris were nothing less than a roller coaster ride with ups (my bday dinner at an armenian restaurant where the owner sang to me in three languages on his electric piano!) and lows (sitting on the curb at the bus stop in front of the french home depot - on my third trip there- and the bus goes right by me. at that point things at the show had gone from bad to worse and i was seriously close to tears!). This week was a huge learning experience for me, it was the first time I was totally in charge and we had a new builder and set up to contend with. (we exhibit at two tradeshows in paris)-- dealing with electrical and structural issues and then having to work the show and play leader to 8 other work collegues and be sure that each of their parts was running smoothly was definately a test in patience and resourcefulness. Working 10 hour days was only enhanced (ha ha) by the fact that the french metro workers went on strike the first day of the show, so instead of taking our normal one train (45 min ride) out to the shows, we took a train to another train to a bus. and were traveling about 2-2.5 hours each way to the show. doesnt make for a good day. but thankfully we had a great group there (minus one bad apple) who made everything, while exhausting and trying, humerous when possible. everyone really rallied to make things the best we could.
i managed to run only three times. due partly to the fact that i didnt get my luggage until the end of the second day, and mostly to the fact that i was dropping into bed exhausted after midnight and had to be up at 7 (sans running) to make it to the show. but when i did manage an early (early!) morning jog, it was in the luxumbourg gardens, really beautiful!
but anyway, like i said its good to be home and getting back to normal. i have a full 2 weeks before i hit the road again. i had no idea my job would turn into this, and honestly i'm not so sure that i'm liking it.. we'll seee...............

i am a statistic

i wasnt sure what to expect this week coming off of the half. i felt pretty good and pretty un sore which was a bit surprising. i could feel my body was still a bit tired even running on thursday night, but it was good to get some of the lead out.
so - while training took a back seat. my job grabbed shot gun and hasnt let go of the throttle yet. seems to always hit the lunacy factor right before going on a trip. and that trip is actually becoming my worst nightmare, one dart after another.
i flew from RDU to JFK to paris, landing this morning. already against me was the fact that at best i would get 6 hours of sleep on the flight, but best never happens. so we land this morning at 7 am all groggy and i follow the heard to collect my bags. hmph. seems to be alot of asians at this carousel... and that flight number doesnt look familiar... - but at the next one is a large number of africans (ok this is like ethnic soup).. that JFK flight is not mine either - how the heck many flights came from JFK on delta in the course of an early morning?? sheesh! when i finally got my act together (which by the way as someone who travels a whole heck of a lot, i would be looking at me this morning and be thinking *crazy*). so i figure out that the carousel that is totally empty and totally abondoned and totally stopped is the one i should have been waiting at. now the thing that i really cannot comprehend is the fact that for less than 20 minutes i was lost. so you tell me how does an entire plane full of people and bags make it past me and out the door -- it was serious UFO stuff. no really. so by now i was panicking a bit as i still dont have my bags. so like the other poor souls who have lost their things i head to the ever friendly offices of lost baggage.. yes these people probably get yelled at and handle way to many complaning people for things that they personally did not do.. but still the sourness and the condescending (ok yes i purposely left them at JFK)... is just too much.
so now i sit. in my hotel finally. no luggage. no clothes other than what i came in. no coat. (its 40 degrees here when the sun goes down!). and best of all- no samples for the show i am here to do. whats worse? me wearing the same dungy jeans for a week or us looking like fools in the industry? toss up.
i know i should look on the bright side (is there one??) as i'm in paris, the shopping capital (or is it NY) of the world and a legitimate reason to go and buy several apparel items. but you know, there are things in that suitcase i would generally MISS if i never get it back. like my black a line coat. i love it. and even my plaid high waisted skirt - that looks good on! .... my poor trainers....
a side note - there is no training to be had here if said suitcase never shows. no swimming no running. no sweating what so ever - considering these clothes need to last me a while! blah!

DUKE 70.3 race report

this race came out of no where. here i am talking to jen about wanting to do it back in May and BOOM its today. where does the time go? anyway, i had been having a rough month with fatigue, travel and just plain blah. not to mention the mechanical and medical issues (ok so the ankle wasnt medical since i never saw a doc...) but the taper was good to me and i felt rested and ready to go. i was ready and wanting to get past all that and put a good race together.

so we arrive at Jordan lake this morning about 545 or so. I had already gotten my packet the day before so i was happy to head straight into transition and get set up. my newest purchase - a bento box- was neatly placed on my bike and i was giddy about getting to use it. after my experience at worlds and dozens of gels hanging out of every part of my uniform i was so excited to have them all packed neatly into one little place. already opened even! eating today would be a breeze!

the morning flew by, including a trip to the unlit, completely pitch black bathrooms.. and before i knew it we were down by the lake awaiting the non wetsuit start. a bitter pill as i'm always for a suit! they said the water was 79 but i wanted a second opinion.. i got in a quick swim and felt really good in the water. i finally feel comfortable out there. which for me is a really nice place to be. yet i was yawning. sleepy. not a good sign 10 minutes before the race.

i am the fifth wave. its an in water start and the first few minutes are pretty crazy with bumping and hitting and choppy waves right into the face.. ugh. but soon it clears out a bit and i find some clear space. its a good swim for me. good not great. but i feel ok the whole time. comfortable. i see a lot of white caps around me so i know i'm in the mix. note to self: learn how to draft. at one point i was about 6 or so feet behind someone and i couldnt decide if this was helping or hurting me. so finally i got up beside her.. anyway an uneventful swim . i find out later from bobby i was 40th out of the water. Huh. not so good. total middle of the pack. looks like its going to be a long winter in the pool trying to find the inner fish..
ok so the bike. i love the bike. i love my bike. i was ready. then, less than a minute into it i drop my chain. total panic. i know nothing about repairing or fixing or fiddling with bike parts. here i am on the side of the road cursing up a storm. thinking this cannot be happening to me. (thoughts of charlottesville come flooding back..) thank god a spectator gives me a play by play and after a few minutes i get the thing working again. ugh. the rest of the bike was awesome. i felt great and rode well. passed alot of people and really ate up the hills. my nutrition was spot on and i felt really good. i played back and forth, pass me, i'll pass you with this one guy on a totally tricked out bike. finally i got pissed off and just flew by him. by that time i was calling him "daddy warbucks" assuming he paid to much for his wheels! yes thats mean, but it got me thru. side note- i do make some of the time go by naming the other participants. perhaps thats mean, petty, but it gets me going and gets me motivated. take leg warmer girl.. :) or grunting gerda... i think sometimes i talk to much on the bike. i talk to people that i pass and those who pass me. i talk to myself. maybe i should be riding more and chatting less. but isnt the "talk test" a way to guage heart rate??
this is me telling bobby about my chain.. and just starting the run, so there is some spice in me. that quickly went... :) i look like a linebacker with the hunched shoulders..
the inside of my visor...

so right, good bike for me. 20 mph average, im proud of it over all those miles and hills. so the run. by now its a scorching carolina day. i felt the heat on the bike and i knew the run would be tough. but how tough i could not imagine. the course was 2 loops of mountain trails. ok so it wasnt a mountain but these hills were long and they were steep. like i needed a carabeener to scale them. i promised my self i would not walk, except thru the aid stations. tough promise to keep, but i did.. it amazed me how many people were walking. i think many had just given into the elements and were going to forgo running the rest of the way. the aid stations had become party central and it was tough to actually get what you needed. i would easily say that was the toughest 13 miles ever. tougher than the last 6 of a marathon, tougher than sub 5k pace on the treadmill. in those miles i swore to myself never ever will i do an ironman. kudos to those who do, but man o man that is one tough cookie! my whole day over again? no way jose.

happy to be done!

i ended up 7th over all. 4th in my age group. darn it! stupid age group. i'm pretty happy with the finish, being my first half. i had hoped for top 10. seriously the toughest thing this body has ever been through. i think i'd rather be in a bar fight. or be a tackle dummy for a day.

my boss told me that if i came in top three i could take tomorrow off. but i think i'll just take it anyway. my car smells like an arm pit and the girls will love the company :)

now off to eat my surprise from bobby! he went to DQ and got not one but THREE blizzards so we can make a monster mix of m&m, oreo and cookie dough. yum~~~~~~

best husband award

goes to the one who gave up a trip to dublin to stay and watch you compete in your first 70.3 this weekend.

Enter Sandman

so i have a terrible habit - well not habit really since you can control those- more like pattern of terrible dreams, ok nightmares sometimes, in the days leading up to an event. I loosely use the word event, as these tend to happen before only three occasions. (one of which i hope i wont be repeating.. you can guess which one that is..) flights, races and my wedding. (bingo!). i have dreams about missing my flight, even if its a 4 pm flight - that i over sleep and have 4 minutes to drive there. i have dreams about missing my start time (like last night) and begging to be put in a later wave - in this case i moved from TT spot #5 to spot # 7649 - granted they were missing about 5000 spots in between but nonetheless that was not a detail i was worried about, i have dreams that i cannot get my legs to move me to the starting line - they weigh 100 pounds each, i have (had) dreams that i forgot to book a venue for my wedding and it was held in my moms living room, dreams that i planned my wedding and forgot to tell people when it was. so i've kind of come to expect these, but at the same time i'm not one who knows that i'm dreaming and re-living (ok not really) these over and over again gets kind of stressful. mainly because i remember my dreams. very vividly. i can repeat entire nights worth of drama in pretty good detail. even the wild transitions where you go from being one of the last 2 on the batchelor to chosing which slurpy flavor at 7-11. though i never eat in my dreams.. WHY NOT! free calories. i WISH i would dream about cookie dough and pizza and peanut butter..

training has been up and down lately. i fought through a weekend of fatigue, the sleepy kind, not the tired muscles kind. maybe the taper is getting the best of me. kind of like trying to stop a moving train,, might as well just keep it going. but the past 2 days have been better. i've felt strong er and smoother in the water - i may have figured out how to swim finally, but the jury is still out on that one. and great on teh bike tonight. i guess i'm ready for duke.

oh and just a little kudos to beth s in pgh. doubt she reads but if you do, or if you know her - she rocked that swim yesterday. talk about playing with the big boys and winning. i could probably run that fast on the pool deck!

good night, go steelers, hope i dont get fired tomorrow :)

no seriously wheres the camera?

is normal coming home from work and watching 5 hours of tv? is normal going for a six hour bike ride? certainly no one thinks their life is normal. even those with 2.4 kids and a white picket fence and a 401k... i knew for sure my life was not normal last night as the words "this is nuts" formed once again in my brain. picture this. its 11pm. all is somewhat quiet in the mayhew household. i have finally gotten to bed and am hopeful of a great nights sleep (previously not gotten due to other factors including a BIG ORANGE loss!! but that depresses me.. )anyhoo. so bobby comes lumbering into bed (thats what you do when you suddenly weigh 210. yes 210. TG its muscle or we would be calling jenny...) anyway so up pops dog #1. whine. whine. whine. does she want out? no. a treat? no. petted? no. she wants bobby to chase her around the house. which of course he jumps out of bed to do. so here i am wondering where things went awry. my husband is running around the house in his boxers chasing the dog. and both are quite happy. up and down the steps. i'm not sure who is having more fun. poor madison (dog #2) is tired as well and gets up on the bed with me to avoid the ensuing chaos. no life is not normal, but perhaps thats better than boring.

congrats are in order

my sister in law got engaged this weekend and i'm very happy for her! (oh and jason too! ha ha) she is an amazing girl and deserves the best. though i will say, getting used to calling someone 'finace' is really tough, but the whole jump to 'husband' well thats a whole new league of crazy!
this is steph with me and bobby skiing park city UT.

a belated congrats to liv who will also be doing the walk down the aisle. she's a JMU'er and a fellow beach bum who i was lucky enough to meet while we shared quite possibly the craziest summer at fishbones (duck, nc).

after a really tough weekend of training, and by tough i mean a day off due to the fact that my body went on protest for lack of sleep over the course of the past week. my thoughts would not stray from dismounting the bike and lying on the side of the road for a long slumber. anyway, what a difference a few days at the beach can make, living la vida loca, or at least la vida normal. football season is not off to a good start at UT quite possibly played the worst game ever last night. worst as in the cheerleaders could have gotten more first downs. ugh. lets have some faith that ben and the steelers bring back some happy times to the start of their season!

on a more serious note, i've been reading bree wee's blog as most everyone in the tri world seems to do, (well worth it!) and its really inspiring to see how someone of her amazing ability deals with not one, not two, but three races (ironmans no less) that didnt end up the way she had hoped. to have her positive attitude and commitment to be at the hawaii IM race, cheering, not racing as she wanted really says alot. its something to remember that after the bike is racked and the shoes come off, what really counts is who is there to greet you and make your life good.