New Year's, No New News

The past few days have been so busy with random stuff that I didn't get a chance to write a "New Year's" post, and for that I apoligize. I awoke this morning to a sound that is not heard often in Iowa in January: a pouring rain! Since I love rain storms I was psyched. But then I realized that the rain would delay my planned outdoor morning run into the afternoon or potentially the treadmill.

My friend Cara drove down from the great white north (i.e. Minneaplois) for the weekend, and since she is deathly allergic to the cats here, she drove straight past Ames to stay with our friends Betsy and Bryan (and yes, I do think it's "cute" that Besty and Bryan (B&B) let us all camp at their house this weekend, with Betsy cooking us breakfast each morning, making it "B&B's B&B). Friday after work, we met up with B&B and Cara in Johnston and we ate a fabulous dinner of chips and dips with a side of chicken enchiladas. Bryan even went to the store so we could have a dessert of strawberry and cake batter (who knew?) ice cream. We played 20 Questions and laughed til about 11pm when we all finally passed out due to over-consumption of food.

I tried to get a run in on Saturday morning before all the craziness of the day set in, but I felt terrible on the run right off the bat, so it turned out to be just a 3 miler, rather than the 6 miler I had intended. I believe that event just further proved my theory (others might call it science that has already been proven...) that what we eat really is what we use as energy, and poor eating will result in poor performance. Although I am a student of performance, I tend to not really take things of this nature truly to heart until I experience them firsthand. And, although I've been an athlete for years, I think that I always chalked up my "crap" days to things other than diet. But as my diet has evolved in the last 3 months or so, I can more clearly see the direct coorelation. Perhaps that could be Resolution #1: Eat better, and eat better on a more consistant basis.

As I have ventured back outside (because I cannot tolerate any more hour long runs on the treadmill), I have noticed that my closet does not contain the clothing necessary for outdoor winter activity. I must have just been hibernating indoors for the winters of the last 10 years, waiting for the phone to ring with a job offer that would "force" me to move to Hawaii (and I'll continue to wait for that...). That said, one of my goals for the weekend was to procure some new running clothes.

Betsy, Betsy's friend Julie, Cara, Sparkle, and I went shopping on Saturday, each with our own goals. We went to the "new" Jordan Creek Mall to try our best to meet those goals. The only store there for me was Scheel's and everything was full price and not exactly what I was looking for, so I basically left the mall empty-handed. Oh, except for Cara's purse, which I literally sprinted through the throngs of people to retrieve after Cara left it next to a chair in the middle of the very crowded mall. Thanks to a very nice man who saw the desparate look on my face when I made it back to the chair and it wasn't there. He said someone had just taken it to the security desk. We got the purse back with nothing missing. Only in Iowa...

We got everyone back to B&B's house and Sparkle and I decided to hit one more store to get what we needed. Super Target, here we come! The clearance racks in the "fitness" area turned out to be my salvation! I bought 4 shirts for a grand total of $26.44! Granted, one of them is going back, but still, what a deal!! New Year's Resolution #2: Don't buy ANYTHING unless it's on sale!

Pacified by my purchases, we got back to B&B's to get ready for our New Year's celebration. Cara, Sparkle, and I drove south out of Des Moines to a party at our friend's Brett and Melissa's new house out in the middle of nowhere. We met up with Sid and Sparkle's friend, Dana, who is visiting from North Carolina. After a tour of the new house and piles of cheese, crackers, spinach dip, and brownies, we settled in to watch the end of a movie and then Big Jim's Polka Show on RFDTV. After about a half hour of polka, we could see that it might be time to move on to the next party. After a quick in-and-out at the Cumming Tap, located just off the main drag in Cumming, Iowa, to procure a beverage and a souvenir, we headed back towards B&B's neighborhood, where a friend of Sparkle's and mine (Jeff, who also happens to own a competing truck accessory business in Des Moines) lives, just 3 blocks from B&B's. To us that meant we were within walking distance of our beds and didn't have to work out driving responsibilites anymore. Turns out that the party was in full force when we got there, but they still needed a little help from the girls from Ames to really take it to the next level!

Hello, Tippy Cup!!! If you were at my 30th birthday party, you know full-well what Tippy Cup is all about. Jeff's friends LOVED us and you can be sure that they will share this game at their next party. Resolution #3: When in doubt, play Tippy Cup!

We were home and in bed by 2am. Since I was about the only one who felt just fine when I woke up, I grabbed the coupon out of the morning paper and drove over to the Sports Authority in West Des Moines for one more try at my shopping. I hit the jackpot there... I got 3 more shirts, some underwear, and a bag I've been needing for my trips to the swimming pool for $83. Right next door was a Border's bookstore, and I had a 2 gift certificates (one from my birthday and one from Christmas) to spend there. I bought "Total Immersion" (a book on swimming), a calendar, and another book for a whopping $2.45. Thanks Steve & Tina and Sonja! As I was getting in the truck to leave (Sparkle had called and she needed to get home to her sofa/bed ASAP, as the hangover was starting to take hold full-force), I saw an old friend come out of the Sports Authority.

He is the one who originally got me started on doing triathlons and we even ran our first marathon togther. It was great to catch up with him. He was pretty excited that I am doing IM Wisconsin. Back in the day, we had talked about doing IM Lake Placid together, but that never panned out. Maybe I inspired him to get back into triathlons like he inspired me the first time... I guess I'll see if he shows up at the Iowa Games tri this summer.

Still feeling great, I managed to get an hour in on the bike last night and I am looking forward to hitting the pool this morning and hopefully getting back out for a run later today.

As I look back over 2005, I have learned a lot about myself from a personal, spiritual, physical, and emotional level. But I feel very good about the progress I made in all aspects of my life and I can 't wait to use those life-lessons to become who I am to be in 2006.

On a side note, as of the time of this posting, I haven't heard anything from Steve and Tina. The next time I hear from them should be immediately following the birth of the twins. My cell phone is never more that a few feet from me, so I'll be able to grab that call as soon as it comes! I think Tina was kind of hoping that they'd be here by now, but we are all thankful that she has been able to carry them as long as she has! Every day is better for them, although more uncomfortable for Tina. Hang in there, sister!