Love it.

1. Love this picture of E. I told her to put her hand on her hip and she took direction very well. Like the hair? Pretty big, huh?

2. Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace -- new Foo Fighters album. Came out on Tuesday. Very good....got my first real listen today and already loving it.

3. Halloween Decorating/Parties/Food -- We're going all out this year. I love Halloween...you can be as over the top and cheesy as you want and it looks awesome. Its all about fun and making kids happy and laugh. What a great holiday. Plus, any holiday with candy can't be bad! Mike's dad calls me the "Queen of Halloween". (We got Ella a dog costume this year.)

4. Iphone -- I am seriously, seriously wanting one. They're so cool. "Drago" has one. I heard he likes it. I've played around with one and it only made my craving worse. My sister-in-law and I have worked all the angles with our respective husbands trying to wrangle one....so far, we're both unsuccesful. (Understandable, I really don't need one AT ALL. They are just so freaking cool.)

5. Pure Taqueria -- my hands down favorite restaurant. In Alpharetta...so, so crowded, try and get there before 7 or you will be waiting an hour...on the street. Well worth it though, the food is so good and the strawberry margaritas even better. Mmmm.

6. Alive After Five -- This is held the last Thursday of the month on Canton Street in Roswell. All the shops/art galleries/restaurants are open....after five. Duh. We went last week and loved it. We met Jill and Jason, Drago and Michelle there and walked around.....E had a great time. So much fun for kids. Face painting, live music, people dressed up as ducks (don't ask....E almost molested this poor guy. She was OBSESSED with him.) A lot of fun. We will def. be back.

Happy Thursday everyone.

Got a good trainer ride in this AM while watching the USA women's soccer team get their butts handed to them by Brazil (4-0) in the semis of the world cup. Coach Ryan is definitely out a job after this, I predict. He made some very questionable coaching decisions. Felt bad for the US. Will try and catch the finals on Sunday. Brazil v. Germany.

Loving Daddy

Video is from Saturday. She was going crazy in one of those bouncy
houses at a birthday party and took the time to give Daddy some kisses.
So sweet.

Finally, finally got a real swim in today! So happy. First
time in longer than I care to even think about. 55 minutes of wet.
Nice. Felt pretty good. My rotator cuff is still sore, but doesn't
really hurt during the workout, just after. No biggie.

Fat as a Tiger

That's a phrase that Nate (my brother in law...and a funny, funny guy) uses to describe our 97 lb. golden retriever. "Fat as a Tiger" is how I feel today after our weekend o'eating. I keep this up and they're going to have to get a crane to get me out of the house soon.
Some highlights...
Rocky Ledge Bars (so, so delicious) batter and bars -- Sat. night
Mexicali Grill -- Sat. night -- great Mexican food
2 one year old birthday parties with cake (and chips)
1 baby shower -- assorted bad-for-you appetizers

My meager workouts didn't put much of a dent into the calories I accumulated. Well...back on track this week, right? Had a fun ride with Michelle yesterday at Riverside. Nice, easy 1:15 spin. Michelle earned it since she biked 105 (yes, miles) the day before and ran for an hour after. (Love that IM training.) Me? Not so much, but hey....that is the beauty of NON ironman training. :)

Back in the saddle....again

Lazy workout week this week. Can't seem to get motivated for 2 a days. I am a sleep hound this week. Maybe from the race last weekend? Not sure. Asleep last night at 8. SO not like me. I am usually out around 11. Gotta get on the stick and get my a$$ in the pool and start moving again for Emerald Pointe in a few weeks. Game on! (That's my pep talk to myself. Like it?)

Running this AM at the gym and almost fell off the treadmill watching the women's world cup. I can't help moving around like I am playing (I played soccer my whole life....little kid through college.). Game gave me chills.....Brazil scored in bonus time to win. Pretty exciting stuff. Miss playing.

E's Poppa came to see her yesterday...she was showing off like crazy. Fun.

Cool slideshow

Check this slideshow out that Eddie (aka Drago and my friend, Michelle's husband) made of her races this year. He's an awesome photographer and it looks great.

www.edhetherington.com/Tri2007

Race results are FINALLY posted from Tugaloo. I placed 4th in my Age Group...which I am so happy with. The girls ahead of me are seriously fast and impressive. Would have loved 3rd, but I gave it all I had. Hard to believe, but my run and bike (yes, MY bike) were both 3rd in AG. So happy to see improvement on my bike this past year. So, final times were as follows.

Kate Parker 31 Roswell GA 6 29:03(swim) 1.9 2:04(t1)3 1:18:32 (bike) 19.9 1:21(t2) 3 46:17 (run) 7:28 2:37:15 (overall)

These past couple days have been tough without a plan or a race to train for.....Tugaloo will not be my last race of the season. Both of the Parkers are now doing Emerald Pointe sprint in a couple weeks. I just signed up. It is a sickness, people. :)

Other news -- Ella is awesome. Loves her new Dora watch given to her by her Aunt Meg. Shows to off to everyone. She's taking a sweet, long nap right now after wearing herself out at "school" (aka creative play) this AM. Her grandpa is coming to visit tomorrow and she's psyched.

Tugaloo Recap

Raced Tugaloo yesterday. (1.5K swim, 42K bike, 10K run up at Lake Hartwell.) Had a really fun time. Enjoyed the day, great weather, loved having Mike and Ella there (thanks for coming, guys!) Still not sure how I did as far as times and age group place since results are not posted, but I am happy with my day.

Alarm starts buzzing at 4:30. Ugh. We're out of the house and on the road by 5. Get up there. Get transition set up. Head down to the lake. Ella tells us she's going swimming...tries to take her shirt off. Very cute. So nice to have a distraction...no times for nerves when she's around. Was nervous about the swim since I haven't had a real swim workout in a few weeks due to a very sore rotator cuff. The time trial start (2 people going every 3 seconds) ROCKED! No contact, but also no one to draft off of either. I was pretty tired by the end of the swim. I forget that Olympics have a pretty serious swim, no 400 meter dip in the water this AM. I think I ended up around 28 or 29 mins. for the swim. Not so great.

Bike
Fun, fun bike. Lots of hills, but lots of descents, too. I took Jill's advice (who killed her bike last year at Tugaloo) and hammered on the descents. SO much fun. I passed so many people who were just coasting...love it. I kept trying to guage how I was doing based on the numbers of the people I was passing (I was #160 and the people who started the swim ahead of me all had lower numbers). I think I ended up around 1:18 or so on the bike.

Run
More hills. No break from them pretty much the whole 10K. Legs actually felt pretty good right off the bike. Guess all those extra runs to replace the swims I was missing paid off. Got a big yell and wave from Mike and Ella in transition. Ella was yelling my name. So cute. Mike told me that when I ran away from her she said "Momma....where are you going???" Aww. Sorry, E....I've got a race to finish! Kept vacillating between feeling great and feeling pretty bad...all relating to how steep the incline of the inevitable hill that I was climbing. Kind of a funny run, part was through a trailer park with people outside with their grills. Always nice to have something to look at while you're in pain. Finish the run in 45something. I think.

Total race was around 2:37...I think. Will post the real numbers when I have them.

So, once again, am totally happy that I raced and had a great time...as usual.

Why do I do this to myself?

Why? Why? Why?

I am racing Tugaloo tomorrow. And, of course, I don't want to. I never want to race the day before and of a race. I never feel ready. I never want to get up at 4am. (Actually, the only time I've ever been excited to race and have felt ready is Gulf Coast this year...I think that might have had something to do with it being a half IM and I was training for a full.) The rest of the time....I am OUT.

Why I do race is the feeling that I get during and after. Once I am 5 minutes into the swim, I enjoy myself. I like pushing. I like seeing how I can do, can I catch that one? How fast can I transition? It is fun. I like being totally focused. I LOVE finishing. (Can you tell I am trying to get excited for this race?)

Mike and Ella are coming with me tomorrow, which is going to be awesome. Can't wait to see them cheering me on.

Testing. IM Finish.

Not sure if this will post or not. Here it is.

Argh.

My bike is not working. AGAIN. I literally just got it back from the shop yesterday, rode it today and the problem is actually worse. No exaggeration, this is the 7th or 8th time I am unable to shift from small to big chain ring. Something I really might need on Saturday in the race. So annoying....going to all3sports with my bike and a 2 year old who loves to knock over the mannequin and try to knock over the eight thousand dollar bikes is not my idea of fun. (I do love going there...withOUT Ella though.) I wonder if something is wrong with my bike? Well, I know there is something wrong, but I have had this same problem since the day I got the bike in January. Maybe it is something wrong with the bike inherently. Who knows? Certainly not me, I know nothing about how they work. The wheels spin. That's about the extent of my bike knowledge.

Phatooey.

Alright, done with my rant.

Early AM run with the girls tomorrow. Should be fun. Hope Michelle is doing well....she had a crash this weekend at Silver Comet. Some scrapes and bruises. Poor girl!

Mike was in last night to get his bike fitted and found out that it is too big for him. They told him if he rides it a lot, he's going to have hip problems. (dysplasia? like a golden retriever?) Guess he needs a new one now, too. Matt at All3 suggested a Kuota KFactor (my bike) to him. How cute. Matching bikes. Aww.

Pic is of E and I riding around Roswell today. Pretty much what we do every day. She had playgroup at the park today and rocked the slides.

Back to School

Wow. What a fun weekend (rather day and a half). Had such a great time up at Wake with my girlfriends, their husbands and kids. I feel so lucky to have such good friends and feel (and certainly act) like we're all still 19 when we get together. I laugh so hard with these girls (and guys). Thanks for making the trip everyone.

Such a trip to be back at Wake with our own kids. We were all walking around the Pit (the cafeteria at Wake that was a semi-dump when we were there, but now is nicer than most restaurants I frequent.) this am for breakfast and wondering if the students thought we were one of them or did we stick out? The milk spilling two year old on my hip might have blown at least my cover. :) Gus nailed it when he said, "We don't feel much older than them, but they think we are SO old."

Boo hoo.

I loved school, but am happy to be where I am now....counting the days until 31. I am not sure I could handle the 4 a days for preseason any more. Or the black scum that was on my jeans every Sunday after being ankle deep in beer until 3am the night prior.

Had some interesting conversations about our old soccer coach who was younger than us when we all started as freshmen. We, now with some maturity and perspective (sure.), cannot believe some of the crap he pulled. (i.e. no food after a game because we didn't play well.) Are you kidding me???
Pics are here.
http://web.mac.com/katetparker/iWeb/Site/Wake%20V.%20Nebraska.html

Hope everyone made it safely home.

Back into taper mode this week. Yes, a taper from my monumentally slacking workout schedule of the last few weeks. Tugaloo is not going to be pretty.

Can't Sleep....

....argh. We're getting up at 4:20, too. Second time in a week, that damn 4 am wake up call beckons. Heading up to Wake to try and make the tailgate for a noon game. Hope to leave by 5. Poor E...hate to wake her sweet little self. She always seems so confused...like, "What are you doing??? I am sleeping here, Mom."

Good day today. Skipped my am swim and took E to Monkey Joe's (a place filled with blow up things for the kiddos to jump all over.) E's buddy, Emma was there and I wasn't in the mood to swim (plus I wanted to see Emma's poor daddy who had a pretty bad bike wreck the day before.) Justin looked pretty beat up. Road rash all over, face, arms, back, legs. Poor guy can't even lift his arm. But, he's pretty lucky, guess it could have been a lot worse. Nothing broken, not even his bike. BE CAREFUL OUT THERE. Justin and everyone. Riding your bike is pretty dangerous. Scary.

Enjoy your weekends. I am so excited to head back to Wake tomorrow. Been at least 5 years since I've been back. Can't wait to see all the girls and catch up.

Early Run

Early (and I mean EARLY) am run with Michelle and Jill today. I have a mental problem putting in a 4 handle into the alarm for a wake up. It hurts to set it for before 5AM. Although, the upside to running with these girls is that it doesn't feel like a workout. So much chatting going on that I forget that we're running. Takes a lot to make me forget that I am running, at 5:30AM. So....well worth the 4:50 alarm.

Heading up to good old Winston-Salem this weekend to watch my beloved Deacs play Nebraska. All the girls I played soccer with are all going with their husbands and little ones. A couple can't make it.....but we will be thinking about you guys. (One of my good girlfriends is on strict bedrest with her second pregnancy, so sad she's unable to come. Vanessa -- thinking about you and sending you positive thoughts.) Ella's going to have a blast. Heading out tonight with my mom to get something to wear since Wake follows the (I think) dumba$$ tradition of dressing up at football games. If I try and go solo and buy something, I inevitably will buy the first thing that doesn't really fit and doesn't really look good and costs the most....simply due to the fact that I have zero patience for clothes shopping. Yeah, I am 30 and I need to buy back to school clothes with mommy still. Nice.

The picture above of E is her imitating Pavarotti. She saw some footage of him this AM and I snapped the shot.

Back in the swing of things after the long weekend. We had a good one, not too many things we HAD to do, which always makes us happy (esp. Mike.) Movie Sat. night -- Superbad (not as good as "Knocked Up", but still pretty good.) Birthday party for E's buddy on Sunday. Took it easy Monday.

One of Mike's coworkers passed away this weekend after a 2 year battle with lung cancer. So sad. His name was Mike Hobbs. Young guy. 2 sons. Didn't smoke. Really breaks your heart. Mike's heading to the service/memorial tonight. Been thinking so much about his wife and boys. Ugh. Awful.

Not exactly a cheery entry....hope everyone else enjoyed their long weekends.