2012: The New Year

Also: the number of abrasions I have on my body currently.

I know it's been awhile, but do you remember that list of travel plans I posted about last time? Yeah. That happened. And also, I figured why just post about that stuff when I can wait until something truly blog-worthy happens. Something like, oh, I don't know... getting attacked by a Labradoodle. But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, let me sum up:

Oct 23 - Soma Half Iron Triathlon: I did it! Despite being seriously undertrained thanks to all my coaching responsibilities, I finished nearly 40 minutes faster than my last Half Ironman. And, in a ridiculous coincidence, the city of Tempe recorded record high temperatures for the day, which, if you recall, is exactly what happened last time. Although this time it was 2 degrees hotter (98), so I had that going for me. Blurg.

Nov 4-6 - Blue Water Triathlon (coaching): They did it! Every single person on the Team crossed the finish line uninjured and happy, which is pretty much a coach's dream. I had so much fun coaching that group of people.

Nov 11-14 - FoCoCO: Fun times with htd! We kicked it awesome for a few days by climbing mountains and drinking beers and watching movies and stuff. We're pretty cool people.

Nov 20 - Ironman Arizona (volunteering): Volunteered all the livelong day, stopping only to get in the very first official workout of my training for Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Saw one of my many friends named Mike become an Ironman. Great day! (Although I went home exhausted at 10:30pm only to come to the sobering realization that when I do my IM, I'll probably still have miles and miles to "run" at that point in the race. Oy.)

Nov 24-29 - Fort Wayne: Thanksgiving with Aunnee, Heath, and Jon! Aunnee provided me with endless delicious food and libations, Jon and I did some godmother/godson bonding, and I got to see Heath preach at the church where he is now a real, live pastor; just your typical mirthful times.

Dec 2-4 - Walnut Creek: Spent the weekend with 60 people from around the country becoming a Tier 1 certified TNT triathlon coach. If you had told me five years ago that I would someday be a triathlon coach, I would have laughed in your face and returned to the ass-dent on my couch to sit some more. Life is kind of awesome sometimes.

Dec 9-11 - Las Vegas: Cassie and I traveled to Vegas to see The Lion King Broadway show. The show was as wonderful as I remembered, and exploring the Sin City nightlife made for an entertaining evening.

Dec 22-29 - Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska: I took the train home for Christmas! What a fun way to travel. I caught a shuttle from Phx to Flagstaff on Wednesday night, caught my train at 5am on Thursday, and chugged my way across the frozen landscape for the next 18 hours on the Southwest Chief. Aside from the hassle and the travel time, trains are SO the way to go. It was such a fun trip! We train-ed through sunrise and snowstorms and sunset and tiny towns and big cities.

All the old ladies got on in Albuquerque and kept me entertained all the way through New Mexico. Two of them were sitting in front of me and narrating what was happening at each stop we made, "Oh, look! Those men are shoveling snow. That girl has a purple suitcase. Well, there's a cowboy in a straw hat." My mom and my sister picked me up at midnight in Garden City, Kansas (because they're awesome) and we drove the remaining 5 hours home, rolling into the driveway just before 5am. What a trip. Then, there was the Christmas merriment, which included 6 adults, 1 hilarious 3-year-old, 1 magically-

hypoallergenic cat, and 1 cuddly beagle. I love my family. The final travel tally for the trip: Planes - 602 miles, Trains - 816 miles, Automobiles - 1132 miles

Dec 31 - My couch: Me + miniature bottle of champagne + Modern Family Season 2 = par-tay

Jan 1 - Just up the street: Really kicked the new year off right. I was out for my Sunday run and, long story short, I got bit by a labradoodle. On a leash. Being held by its owner. Who was too busy dicking around on his phone to pay attention to the aggressive beast at the end of the line. Jerks, the both of them. The tooth marks and bruises kicked off a week-long spate of accidental self-injuries, from wearing shoes that gave me 9 (NINE!) blisters to impaling my hand on the chainring on my bike, culminating in a pretty severe fall on a concrete sidewalk this past weekend (while Jerilyn was here visiting, because she's wonderful!) that busted up my knees, elbow, and other hand. In 3 1/2 days, I'm running a race that requires me to sign an actual death waiver. Based on my recent string of luck, I'm a little nervous...