Hi there Bloggy friends, hopefully some of you are still out there. I had thought I’d abandoned this blog, but I think I am back as there is a lot going on in my training and eating world right now! Since I last left you I went through a bout of the stomach flu, had a great weeklong visit with my mom while the husband was out of town for 10 days, chopped off all my hair (allll of it) and donated it to Pantene Great Lengths, picked a fall marathon and I competed in the Fairport harbor sprint tri.

First up, the Tri. If you’ve been reading my blog you will know that me and open water swimming are enemies. But the weekend of this race I met up at the beach with a swim teacher and my friend JenC and I had a swim lesson. I must say it really helped me a lot. The main thing she taught me was to not breath when I sight. To just sight with my eyes up like a crocodile (well the reptile image came from Jen). It was like a light bulb moment. I had a great lesson and even though I was still sick from a stomach bug I decided to go through with the tri the next day. Mother nature had a different plan and as I drove the 45 mins that Sunday back to the beach the clouds rolled in and sprinkling began. The water was looking very scary and the sky was dark and cloudy. Needless to say I was scared. The race directors kept threatening to cancel the swim, but eventually about 30 mins late they called for the waves to get in the water. Standing on the shore I was shivering in the cold rain in my tri shorts and sports bra, but once we were corralled into the water it felt great, the water was as warm as a bathtub. I had to stand in the water for 15 mins while the other waves went off. My nerves were building up but by the time they told us to go I was just ready to get it over with. The race director cut the swim in half, so we only had to swim a measly 250 yds and then run up the beach to transition about .25 mile. Now normally I end up breast stroking my way through the whole swim, but not this time! I did start off with the breast stroke, but once I got some space around me I was able to freestyle and sight off of a lovely lap line they have at this beach. I did go back into breaststroke a few times, but I would venture to guess that I swam freestyle for at least 175 yards. I was really proud of myself! The rest of the race was just okay. My stomach was kicking and I felt pretty week, I finished around 1:20, which is nothing to write home about. But for me it was a win. Now I had contemplated doing a oly triathlon in Sept, but I just have too much going on running wise to get the training in. So, my plan is to swim hard all winter and next summer I will do a few oly’s and international tris.

My running has been going great. I decided to do the Huntington WV marathon on Nov 7. I have a friend from work who is doing it. I have a small dream of doing a marathon in all 50 states, so you won’t see me doing any more OH marathons. I hope to do WV this fall and one in MI next spring. I am saving NY in hopes that one day I will get in the lottery for NYC marathon. I just started up my training and had a great 10 mile run yesterday. It’s been awhile since I ran double digits, but it felt great. I really do enjoy distance. I have 2 half mary’s in Sept. I have been doing speed work at least 3 times a month and I have high hopes that my next half mary can be close to 1:50, if not under! 4:15 fall marathon here I come.

I am looking at buying a new all carbon road bike if I can get the bike shop to come down on the price, as it’s an ’09. It’s a Specialized Ruby Compact. I am excited. I hope they will take the price I offered. If I get it I may sign up for another sprint tri just to race on it this year.

So, like I said I chopped off all my hair. I am getting used to it. The guy who cut it (Shawn Paul at Cedar Hill salon for you locals) did an awesome job, but sometimes I look in the mirror and it takes me by surprised. But I am loving the quick morning shower and not having to deal with all my hair under my helmet and swim cap. It’s hard to feel sexy with short hair, but I feel spritely and cute at moments. Plus short hair makes me feel skinny, lol.

Speaking of skinny. Ugh, I have put on a few lbs and have been eating sugar like it’s going out of style. So, today marks day 1 of my attempt at a 21 days cleanse. I have done this cleanse before, it’s based off the book Quantum Wellness, but I have never made it 21 days. Last time I lasted about 17 days then ate a bunch of cupcakes the day before a half mary and got horribly sick! I am excited. I have been a vegetarian since mid April and I think this will be easier for me this time. Basically I will not be eating any animal products, added sugar, or anything processed or chemical laden. Good bye diet coke :( This cleanse is also supposed to be gluten free, but I am not going to be sticking to that. I did last time and I found gluten free products horribly expensive and not very tasty. But I will be sticking to rice and oats for my grains for the most part and they are gluten free. But if I want a piece of toast with soy butter on it I will have it! Being vegan is only hard for me when it comes to cheese. I already don’t drink dairy b/c it makes me sick. The sugar is the big thing for me. Today will be hard, but by Wed I know I will feel wonderful. I am excited to get rid of this sluggish belly feeling and have my energy shoot through the roof like it does when I eat strictly whole foods. Why oh why do I always go back to the processed crap!?! I am going to reread “The Quantum Wellness Cleanse” and “The Kind Diet” as motivation.