Cover it up!

I know I'm suppose to blog about my diabetes, but what can I say it's there, it's with me, I deal with it, but this issue I'm about to expose is something that a 14 year old kid might write about, not a girl pushing 40, but I'm gonna tell you about it anyway, cause it cracks me up. I don't know where it came from, but it's there.

OK, so I know I have a lot of issues but, one just keeps coming up lately, over and over. Since, I've been swimming 3X a week, I'm in the locker room at the YMCA way too much for my liking. Now this is the silliest thing ever, and I don't even know how it started, but I can't get past the fact, that people actually walk around the locker room... FULLY NAKED. What do they think it is, a locker room or something? They stand there and talk-naked, sit on the benches-naked, walk out of the shower-naked, hang out in the sauna and steam room-naked...WTF , cover up your junk, but nooooo they are walking and talking with all of it hanging out. My friend and I get changed in the shower stall or bathroom, NEVER out in the open, we'd be mortified. I'm not sure why I have this issue, or why it's even an issue but it tortures me!! My best friend and I are like two school girls hiding our heads and giggling. She'll give me "the look" as seen in the picture above, it's the "What the F Ricci" look, once I see that... I know there is a naked person lurking around. She swears they stalk her out and talk to her on purpose. She is even worse than me with this issue, but at least she blames her years of attending an all Catholic girl school. I don't know where my issue with nakedness came from. For goodness sakes, I'm a nurse I see naked people all the time at work and think nothing of it, I insert tubes into holes where tubes don't belong, but, "gosh forbid" a naked person is standing there talking to me in a locker room, yuck-yuck-yuck! Freaks me out! For those who know me, they know I live in a sports bra and running shorts, I'm half naked all the time, my car doubles as a changing tent, so I feel a bit hypocritical, but jees, you'll never find me getting naked with a room full of strangers. I want to scream to these people, "COVER IT UP PLEASE!"

The other day it was like we were being punished, we are both sitting in the sauna in our bathing suits, of course, and this older lady comes in, HOLDING her towel, while she is full blown naked. I'm praying she will put the towel around her because I know we will have to leave the sauna if she doesn't. She doesn't. Instead, she proceeds to sit her naked ass on the bench next to Monica across from me, and she starts lifting up flaps of skin and scrubbing herself dry as we sit there in our swimsuits and try not to laugh, all of a sudden, I get "the look" and it's inevitable the giggles start and we can't stop. I try biting my lip, it does not work. We try to compose ourselves, with no luck! We decide to exit, it's unbearable for us both. No words are said until we exit the locker room, then we bust out laughing, we are so much alike, something so silly, that freaks us both out. That is one of the reasons why I love her so much, thanks to triathlon our paths crossed and I got a best friend!

Well I'm headed off to bed now, so that I can get up and swim, AND see naked people again in the morning!

The Longest Day

As I sit here on the spin bike at 2:30 in the morning, adding in an extra ride that's not on the training plan, I can't help but think of the upcoming adventure I just agreed to. Last year a group of 7 of us did a 208 mile ride from the tippy top of NJ to the bottom of it, called, The Longest Day named after the summer solstice. Up until 3 days ago it was still up in the air whether or not the team was going to reunite to pull it off again. Secretly, I was OK with the fact that it might not happen. It was truly one of "The Longest Days" of my life. It has been the only event thus far that I puked my guts up afterwards. Possibly, the potato chips on the ride home were not such a good idea- but, they were so yummy at the time. Anyhow, potato chips... officially off my list for post race recovery food.

I'd rate the ride as hard as Ironman, being on the same muscle group for thaaaat long, proved challenging, OR maybe it was the bike seat? I guess just the combo. On Monday I saw the strongest rider of our team at the pool, soooo it's.. game on. I guess we are all suckers for this endurance stuff. As most endurance racing teaches you something, I learned a lot about myself and our team that day. It is definitely not a race I am willing to let slip by, as I still have so much to learn, plus it's another weekend to hang out with my bff. It was a awesome adventure that bonded you with your team mates, and they became like family by the end of the day. An amazing experience in my book of life. Everyone had their ups n downs and we worked as a team to get through the physical and mental challenges of the ride. Pushing yourself like that is the greatest feeling out there. There were many laughs along the way. My most priceless memory was my best friend eating a Snickers bar in the Porto-john..that was just NOT RIGHT, but we still laugh about it.
I'm not sure what coach Gordo will say about my newly added adventure, but I have decided I will whine again if need be! There will be no squashing of this idea.

Happy to report bg currently 160, heart rate 135 and only an hour and a half more till I get to swim AGAIN! WHAAAT THE........

Squash!

So here is the highlight of my week...Gordo Byrn calls my cell phone and I get to talk to him for about 30 minutes!!!!:) Here's how it happened. I needed a training plan, so a friend recommends Endurance Corner,...with that comes a phone call from Gordo and emails!!!!! Yippppeeeee, or so I thought.

I was planning on doing the NJ Marathon 6 days before the Irongirl Triathlon in Vegas. Well, he squashed that idea. Didn't even want me to do the half marathon, but said it would be OK to run the 1st 10k at a snails pace, and race the last seven, so that's my new plan. I feel bad, I talked friends into doing it and now I'm bailing. Oh well, I won't miss long runs. I also will not be wearing my timing chip. My polar will tell ME all I need to know.
Squashed idea #2-the training plan has me swimming 3 days per week, doesn't he know I got into the pool 3 weeks before Ironman last year! I've already been swimming 2 times per week since January, that is HUGE for me. I explain this to him, and basically ask him to adjust the plan so that I can have a extra ride or run workout instead of the swim. OK, who do I think I'm talking with, for goodness sake he's a pro and I'm telling him what I, Denise Ricci want to do. Yup, well, you guessed it, squashed that idea too, so last week I made it to the pool 3 times. Maybe this isn't going to be so much fun.
Squashed idea #3- I tell him I want to do longer rides and runs, I have friends training for CDA and Lake Placid, I want to go on long rides with them. He doesn't necessarily say I can't, but pretty much warns me, that I'll be burnout out by the time it gets to my long training if I start going long now. Makes sense, but it's hard adjusting because for the past 2 years my A race was in July so we were starting to amp up the training right about now, but instead, all I'm doing is base. Well I'm just gonna rearrange my thoughts and be happy for the extra time I have right now. Long workouts will be here before I know it.
So reflecting on our conversation, I'm like a whiny child, "I don't want to swim three times a week, I want to ride and be with my friends,I want to do the marathon." I can only imagine what Gordo was thinking. It's good I get to talk to him again next month, I promise myself I'll behave better.

It's been a little over a week now, that I am following this training plan. It feels good to be on a schedule instead of just randomly working out, doing whatever I felt like doing. It feels good to be paying attention to heart rate zones, and even better to be training in zones 1 and 2. Who wants to go fast and hard anyway. (Who am I kidding, I never go fast.)
Well I gotta get to bed, 6am swim in the morning, and I can't wait... NOT!