Christmas...Merry! Merry!

In my mid-week Christmas confusion, I thought yesterday was Friday...explaining my absence. sorry about that.

to make it up to you, I post this photo of me riding in costume (it looks like Carrie and I woke up with the same idea!). I was a reindeer and my sister was mortified. I was given direct instructions NOT to tell people who I was if anyone asked me what I was doing.

Family support, huh?

I rode with my nephew...2 points in one, baby! Riding with a child was an audience choice challenge. I may not win, but I am making quite the effort this week.

Merry Christmas from Triathablog!

There's no challenge like the Masquerade Challenge ... and no morning like Christmas to frighten all your neighbors.



Last week, I wrote my sister and asked her to make me a pair of her famous elf shoes. She not only agreed, but she said she'd run with me ... which made running in costume less embarrassing ... kind of. Here she is this morning, fitting the shoes for me.



We're set to go! The sooner we get back, the sooner we get to attack our presents. And, yes, our skirts are made from old tablecloths I took from Starbucks.



Surprise! My grandparents got wind of our Triathadventure and joined us on scooters ... with their Santa hats! (They also mortified us by making us deliver homemade bread to their neighbors while still in costume, but that was later.)



Our triumphant return! Merry Christmas!

Boo-boo Kitty

Who says life doesn't kick you when you're down? This morning I've been stressing out, trying to fill my trunk with gifts (which would have been easier if I'd cleaned out my car beforehand), take the trash out, wash dishes, go for a run, and do laundry that's been piling up since Thanksgiving.

In the midst of multitasking, I took a fairly bad fall in front of the whole neighborhood. It doesn't look that bad, but it really hurts, from my hands to my skinned knees.

I don't think I should run on it today (it keeps bleeding, for one thing ... maybe my Hello Kitty bandaids aren't cutting it), but I cleaned up and Neosporined and Adviled, so hopefully I'll be good to go for the rest of the week.

I've learned this from Triathablog — ignoring sickness or injury only makes it worse, sidelining me for longer than I'd like. Come to think of it, maybe that's true for other areas of life as well. I'll admit, postponing cleaning out my car has made for a more hectic morning. And going for a month without doing laundry makes for a hellish start to a road trip. Until I get some elves, maybe it's time to start planning ahead.

The busiest week of December has been survived, and we are winding down to the end of Triathablog. If I can make it through a week filled with six days of work, six parties (one of which I hosted), four days of swimming, five days of yoga, cleaning house, and wrapping gifts, Christmas and New Year’s should be a cinch! As soon as my party was over on Saturday night, I laid in my bed unable to move, thinking how glad I was that it was finally over. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but the end of that party marked the end of Christmas craziness for me. Fitting Triathablog into this week won’t be a problem since our family Christmas will be very low-key this year. Thank. Goodness. Maybe I can even convince them to participate in a group activity that doesn't involve watching movies on the western channel (sad, but true). Even with that possibility, it is still going to take a Christmas miracle for me to pull ahead of Carrie by the time December 31st rolls around.

A tiny nugget of wisdom: I discovered on Sunday that a hearty dose of caffeine before a swim makes you feel as though you could swim for hours (although that is probably a terrible idea). This is a trick I used when I was running, and it works just as well for swimming. I found that one large-ish mug of bold coffee, which has a lower caffeine content than a mild roast, was just enough.

My apologies for the brevity of this post, but there is a long night of swimming, dinner, and concerts ahead. Ciao!

Weekly Totals = Amanda 92, Carrie 100, Elisa 86

Too bad we don't award extra credit. Some would say Elisa deserves it for getting rides in between ER visits and a mostly liquid diet (she did ride, just not all four times). And what about Amanda, throwing the year's best Mistletoe Madness party while keeping her friends full of holiday hot chocolate AND getting weekly swims, plus two more challenges?

But Triathablog, like life, is not always fair, and we don't give extra points for holiday cheer. We're happy to see Carrie become our first centurion. Will she hold her lead, or will one of her challengers pull of a Christmas miracle in the final weeks?

"What's a Physical Challenge," you ask? Check out Contest Rules in the sidebar to the right for details.

AMANDA: 9 points (92 Cumulative)
5 points = Weekly Swims
3 points = This Week's Touch Your Toes Challenge
1 point = Apartment (Physical) Therapy Challenge

CARRIE: 12 points (100 Cumulative)
5 points = Weekly Runs
3 points = This Week's Touch Your Toes Challenge
1 point = Santa Challenge (Jump Rope)
1 point = Special Report (Report to HR for Recess)
1 point = Audience Choice Challenge (H2Whoa)
1 point = Flux Capacitor Challenge (Different Time)

ELISA: 86 Cumulative

Link Round up

Well, I don't have too much to say today. Another week of no riding, due to stitches in my lip (which, thanks to Triathablog, I am telling people is because of a cycling accident...I sound like such a badass. Thanks Triathablog!). I can honestly say that I miss riding SO VERY MUCH! The good news is that I am getting a lot of crocheting done. But not getting any points.

Here are some of the cycling sites that I check frequently. There are more, of course. I find a new site nearly everyday. If there are any that I am missing, please let me know.

BikeRubbish.com

Bike Snob NYC
Bicycle Pirate-great cycling fashion
The Lazy Randonneur
Velo Vogue-where the bike lane meets the runway
Bike Hugger
Urban Velo
Ecovelo-great blog with beautiful photographs.

Enjoy!

A Head Cold Is Such a Grinch

Getting sick again is not on my schedule for Christmas, but I found out early in Triathablog that ignoring my body's pain only makes it worse. So instead of pretending I'm fine, I'm getting lots of sleep and lots of fluids. But should I stop running?

I've heard a lot from both ends of the spectrum, especially last week, when I didn't run because of stomach problems. One side (this includes my mom) says I should absolutely rest from running when I'm sick. The other side (this includes my downstairs neighbor) says I should under no circumstances lose Triathablog, even if it means running sick.

In matters of debate such as this, I like to let Google weigh in. Turns out, the good people of the Internet say you can keep running if your illness is above your throat — like my head cold — and stop running if it's below the throat (chest congestion, nausea, etc.). Also, don't run with dizziness or fever.

This is relatively good news for me. It means I did the right thing last week by not running with nausea. It also means going to the gym today is probably okay. In fact, one site said that it's better to run on a treadmill than outside when I'm sick with a winter cold, because dry outside air could further irritate my poor little overworked nose (I'm paraphrasing).

Of course, part of me wants to stay in bed all day. But, at the advice of Dr. Internet, I'll stop by the gym on the way home. Then I'll drink my weight in orange juice, just to cover my bases.