It’s been awhile since I blogged, but I thought I’d do so for the awesomeness that was the Utah Half Ironman!

It was not as physically challenging as I had anticipated, but it was much tougher mentally than the marathon. So, how’d it go? Read on . . .

I met all 3 of my goals for this race:

1. Don’t die.
2. Finish before the time deadline.
3. Don’t be dead last.

(I just noticed that there is a lot of death in those 3.)

The nice thing about swimming in the Utah Lake harbor is that it is very shallow. So when I had a cramp in my calves I could just stand up and stretch them out. And when I got tired of swimming, I could just walk. So, I beat my expected time by a whole 15 minutes! Did you know it is possible to get seasick when you’re swimming? Good thing I could walk it off during the actual swim. I think I swam farther than anyone else though because every time I looked up the buoy I was aiming for was in a different place. I swear someone kept moving it. Luckily the rain stopped right before the start and I didn’t have to worry about huge waves and lots of wind like some people have in their races. The water was also kind of warm, which was nice. I didn’t have to wear the wetsuit.

After running like 500 miles from the water to T1, I was ready for the bike. Did you know that it is possible to feel seasick on a bike? Especially when you’re already a bit queasy? Biking is actually my strongest event so I made good time on it. That is, until I got a flat at mile 10. Silently cursing (okay, maybe not so silently), I got off and did the equivalent of the rain dance as I tried to walk in biking shoes while holding the bike up with one hand and taking the wheel off with the other and avoiding oncoming traffic and bikers all at the same time. After getting the spare tube in and the tire back on and the wheel on the bike in a pretty fast time, I was feeling good. Then, I tried the CO2 cartridge and the tube inflated, then immediately deflated. Hmmm, I must be doing something wrong, I thought. So I got out my last CO2 and tried again. No luck. So, I pulled everything off again in that rain dance maneuver and finally got everything back together. Only I didn’t have any more CO2. So I started walking the bike for about 5 minutes until someone had pity on me and gave me some CO2. After that, the bike ride was fairly easy (after all, this is billed as the “flattest and fastest half in the west”).

By the 56th mile, though, I was pretty glad to finally pry my butt off the bike seat and start the run. I was most worried about the run because I’m just not that fast and haven’t been training long. And the greasy pizza promised for the finish line did not give me any impetus to run faster. The “great” thing about the run part was that it was 2 laps so you could curse, er I mean cheer on, those who were completing the final lap when you were just starting your first. I was able to run the first 2 miles before I decided that I needed to breathe and keep my heart from beating outside my chest. So, I ended up walking and jogging every other mile after that.

The good thing about finishing near the end is that most people are gone and all the promised pizza is cold. But, at least there was not a line for the free massage and I didn’t have to wade through a bunch of bikes and stuff in the transition area since almost all the bike rack things were gone. Thankfully, they left mine and a few other racks up so that we could easily tell where we had to go.

After finishing, I thought that the half of me that was now an ironman was my legs. Why else wouldn’t they move easily? Now I wonder if it is my head because I’m seriously considering doing it all again next year! Especially since a kid who finished after I did got this huge trophy! He explained that all he had to do was go to a specific sprint-length race, an Olympic-length one, and then this half. So, you mean I can pay money to hurt myself and then get a big trophy? Oh yeah! And don’t try telling me that I could just buy a trophy without the pain because I’m not listening!

Tom Johnson over at IdRatherBeWriting.com inspired me to try biking to work (http://idratherbewriting.com/2012/04/11/finally-biking-to-work/).

It has been a bit of an adventure, but I’m really liking it. I started out using my (almost) 20 year old mountain bike. And, although it is only about 10 miles for me to get to work, it is uphill both ways 😉

Actually it is mostly downhill on the way to work and mostly uphill on the way home, especially the last big hill before I get to my house.

It took me about 1 hour and 15 minutes the first day (each way), which is not too bad. I was encouraged. Then, on the second day, about 3 miles from work, I got a flat – and I had not packed a spare or even a pump! Not smart, I know. So, I got to walk the bike all the way there (minus a mile or so since I could drop it off at my sister-in-law’s house – thanks Kristen!). I also had to be picked up that evening.

The third time, things went pretty smoothly, I got to work in about an hour, but coming home I had a head wind and it took me almost 2 hours. Ouch!

But, as a present for my anniversary, we got me a brand new road bike, all composite, nice components, and all the stuff to go with it (biking clothes and clip in shoes and tire repair kits). So now we can go biking together – especially to the Ulcer at the beginning of August (100 miles around Utah Lake). I’m excited but nervous. That is a looooooooooonnnnnnng way to bike.

But, this morning it was great to ride the new bike to work and how easy it was to pedal and everything. I was a little scared of the speed so it took me just under an hour, but I expect things to pick up as I get in better shape and my fear is suppressed with experience.

I’m so glad I can finally do this because I love it already!

I was spending entirely too much money for a gym membership that I never used. I’ve just been so busy (I know, excuses, excuses).

But, I really want to get back into a semblance of shape other than a circle.

So, I did some research on DVD fitness programs.

At first I thought of the P90X program. It was a bit pricey, but seemed like it could get some results. After doing some research, I concluded that it is not for me (yet, perhaps). The guy on there sounds like he’d be annoying after the first week. If I get a chance to buy them on craigslist, I might spring for them later, though.

Then, I thought about Bob and Jillian from the Biggest Loser. After doing yet more research, I figured that I wanted a set of Bob’s DVDs. I may go to some of Jillian’s earlier DVDs later. I hear those are much better than the latest set.

In any case, I started Bob’s day 1 workout for beginners today. It was only 25 minutes, but I am definitely feeling it. I couldn’t even get through all the exercises. Maybe I shouldn’t have used any weights this time 😉

It was a nice routine though. Pretty simple and easy to do. I liked how he walked through some potential problems and encouraged as we went. I also liked his interactions with the other people on the video. Since I have had a trainer before and been to the gym, I was pretty sure that I was doing the exercises correctly, but it would be nice if there was some way to identify bad form. Maybe the Kinect for XBox will come up with something that can do that.

In any case, my legs are wobbly and my arms can’t go above my head right now, so I’m betting I’ll be pretty sore tomorrow. Should be interesting!

I know, a weird title. But they do go together.

I was talking with my mom recently about our youngest, who had H1N1 last week (he’s much better now, thanks!).

My parents live in California, where the H1N1 stories in the news are fairly common and tend to highlight cases that seem to be people who are not in the “high-risk” groups, providing details about this pandemic. While, here in Utah, I really don’t hear very much on the news, and the stories tend to be about ways to stay healthy and about how this is just another flu and the death rate is as expected.

So, while we weren’t too worried, I’m sure my mom was kind of freaking out.

It got me thinking about why a Democratic state would focus on the negatives and a Republican state would be more optimistic. (This is where the “party” lines comes in). After all, I am a fairly optimistic person.

I’m not so sure this has to do with pessimism versus optimism as a nature of certain parties, though. While some may argue this, I think it goes deeper, into the world view of those in each party.

Democrats tend to be more focused on the poor, the downtrodden, the under-represented. Republicans tend to be more focused on free markets and improving from the top, keeping government out of our lives. These are simplistic definitions, obviously, but I feel they are useful here, if not completely black-and-white.

In California, the focus seems to be on these suffering people and how bad this is, how we need help to fix the problem. In Utah, the focus seems to be on how we can handle this problem ourselves and reassuring us that we can do it.

In some ways I think these world views tie in with how people take on the “global warming” issue, even. From the, in my opinion, exaggerated sky-is-falling outcries on the left, to the nothing-to-fear-but-fear-itself, we-are-not-the-cause anti-response of the far right. The answer here, and for H1N1, is somewhere in the middle – a complex, problematic issue that is not easily solvable, nor should it be ignored.

6 months out from corrective eye surgery and I am stabilized at 20/15. Woo hoo!

Now to remember all the things my mother told me – don’t read in bad light, don’t sit so close to the tv, don’t stare at the sun, and so forth.