Bella

I waned a dog. Eric said no. We had a dog but I'm a runner and I really wanted a dog that I could run with. Beau was retired from pretty much everything except sunning himself and eating. Then Amy Johnson's beautiful lab had pups with an unknown daddy. All they knew was that he was huge. Eric's last words were, "it's up to you". His interpretation of that was, you should know by now that I don't want another dog. My interpretation was, definitely go and get a puppy. Funny how that works!

Bella was one of those "Marley and Me" kind of dogs. She was the sweetest, most mellow little puppy...for about two weeks. Then began the process of chewing, everything she could find. This landed Bella outside with Beau pretty quickly. She transitioned well into her new accommodations, finding plenty to chew outside, including the deck and the Intex pool which we owned for less than 24 hours. It's a good thing the girls were at Grandma's that day. I heard from Eric on several occasions, "that's your dog." And so, despite her chewing and horrible behavior, we started to bond. I tried to train her. If I every open a business, "Blue Fire Dog Training", don't hire me. I am not good. I basically gave up on the training.

Despite all of Bella's manners, she did have one great quality which made me believe, she was perhaps very smart. Bella was a great running partner. We began a few short runs when she was young and I learned she would stay at my side (mostly), and keep a very consistent pace. A few months ago, when she hit that magic 18 month number, I started running with her more. It was perfect timing because I really needed to be able to run at 430am. Bella didn't mind the hour and she helped me feel comfortable running in the deserted streets. Hill repeats and speedwork didn't always amuse her, but she stuck with me.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed Bella wasn't eating as much. I thought maybe she was running more and didn't quite feel like eating so much. Maybe she finally stopped growing and didn't need so much. I changed up her food a bit and she seemed more interested. So, we went out for a nice three mile run. She ran just like any other day, wagging her tail, totally happy to be out there. I didn't run as much over the past ten day because Eric was out of town. Then I noticed she had a limp which turned into a very bad limp the next day. By the evening of the next day, Bella could hardly move. I took her to the vet and we were pretty unsure of what was going on. Fortunately, I have great vets at Pilchuck. Dr McGregor was the best. She ran lab work which showed Bella's kidneys were in failure. She would require a hospital stay and weeks of medicine. Unfortunately, I didn't choose to get the medical insurance for Bella and the cost was more than I could put on my family. So, we said our goodbyes and I left her in the hands of wonderful people. They told me that her ashes would be scattered in an orchard in Eastern Washington. I kind of think she would like that. If she were still alive and lived there, she would have chewed all of those trees down!

I told the girls the next morning. They were ok with it. Payton is taking it pretty hard. Despite that fact that Bella ran over them every time they were near, Payton really loved Bella. If Payton would pet Bella, she would immediately calm down and sit there for as long as Payton could pet her.

Thank you to my husband for understand how sad I feel right now. Thanks Darlene and Mom for talking to me late at night as I drove back and for the to the vet. Thank you Darlene and Bri for the flowers. Thank you Dr McGregor and the ladies at Pilchuck vet than night. You totally helped me feel better and comfortable with my decision.

Bella helped me a ways I can't explain. I am so grateful for her loyalty, love and 430am runs!

Words from 2010

Blessed is an understatement when I think about the wonderful people I have trained over the past year. I think I have one of the best jobs out there. I love watching my athletes work towards and achieve their goals. Whether it's pushing themselves through one more set, running their first mile, or crossing the finish line, each moment it fantastic to me!

We keep record of athletes progress and they write comments about their workouts. Here are a few great quotes from 2010....

Post Workout Reports
"wlk inside my bus :-) "....walking inside of a bus does not count for a run

"Timex Global Trainer
Stop Time: 00:00:00
Avg Ascent: 4 m/min
Avg Descent: 3 m/min
CAL/HR: 1030" - Someone's Timex watch

"MC & I .. easy jog together" - This is special to me...Mom and stepdad running together


Shoes...
"my shoes were still wet from the bike ride, so I did the circuit barefoot... "

"My roommate drove off with my running shoes"...barefoot ran instead

"Forgot my shoes"...a classic!

I also had someone show up to a workout in their slippers. Kudos for not letting your shoes slow you down~

Excuses...
"My dog ate my stretching worksheet"....what happened to your homework?

"Had dinner instead - a much better choice!!!" ....yes, that was a great dinner!

"This was to be done on Sunday but I fell asleep and did not complete the workout."

"please forgive me. I have no excuse except that I completely forgot. "

On Swimming..
"exhaling was by far the biggest challenge. I've got some work to do with my gills."

"Fish are friends, not food." - A common mantra...thanks Nemo

"Auntie, I can swim now so you have to ride your bike with clipless pedals" - Payton

"It was really fun to watch you manage the "old farts" "

On Cycling..
"All I could think about yesterday was how badly I want a bike. I am beginning to tire of the confines of the hot dark room and loud music that is spin class..."

On Running..
"Don't tell anyone but I'm starting to like this running thing."

"We did this run on hills. They always look easier when riding in the car. The hills were long grades and other than the very first part everything was up hill. I was more difficult but I did run the whole time." - MC ...on Hill work

"Hills are easier on the way down"

On Racing..
"cleaned up drove and cleaned again had a great weekend it was alot of fun" Husband...after Ocean Shores weekend. Thanks for all of the driving!

"I had an emotional high all day yesterday after having run a full 1/2 marathon - WOOHOO."

"Don't worry, you'll make up for it on the run." Sister Madonna Buder to me after my crank arm broke during a race. Having my bike break in the middle of the race was totally worth getting to chat with her after! She then told me, "You are a hero". From Sister Madonna...what a compliment!

"Mommy, I'm hungry" Marley to me just after I crossed the finish line at Lake Stevens 70.3.."Me too Marley!"

"I did 5 triathlons this year" 64 year old Margaret....to those who say...Oh, you've done a triathlon

Basic Complaints
"I think I'm going to throw up"

"I have to tell you, this isn't my favorite hour of the day."

"When does it get easier?"

"Can we do something different"... Coach: "Sure when you are done with this exercise."

"this was probably the most torturous workout I have ever endured. "

"I don't do push ups"


Inspiring Words from Coach...
"Set your alarm...get up, get up, get up...this will pay off! Remember your goals"

"You just have to get from the start of the swim to the end of the swim without drowning or breaking any rules. Otherwise, I don't care what it looks like."

"You must get out of bed today!!!"

"You don't have to believe it, just tell yourself over and over that you can do it."

Thanks again for an amazing year!!! Mary

Fudge, Cookies, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes....

One of my athletes asked me to send out a few words on what to eat over the holidays. Here are my thoughts...

My favorite class in my nutrition program in college had to do with emotional aspects of eating. I loved this class because food is so greatly tied into emotion, celebration, family and holidays. I have wonderful memories of eating at the holidays. Thanksgiving always reminds me of eating with my Grandma and stuffing the turkey when I was a little girl. Christmas reminds me of the yummy Christmas cookies my Mom made. I have one particular memory of my my friend Lori and I making Christmas cookies when we were in junior high. Lori spilled a giant container of sugar all over my Dad's kitchen floor. I don't think that floor every recovered. Those sure were good cookies though! I have my own food favorites as an adult which includes; fudge, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and frosted Christmas cookies.

I could go on and tell you some magazine tips on, "How to not eat too much at Thanksgiving". But do you really want to hear that? Most people will read the article at the doctor's office and disregard or eat more when the day comes.

My thoughts on the holidays are simple. Enjoy your family, enjoy your friends, enjoy the holidays and enjoy the the cranberry-laced food. When it comes to the food part just be a little sensible. If you go overboard at one party, it isn't going to kill your fitness program. If you go overboard at all of them it might set you back just a bit. Remember to be easy on yourself. Don't spend the whole party worrying about how many calories you have eaten. Food is fun and parties usually have fun food. Try some, just don't eat the whole table. You don't have to sample every Christmas cookie that comes into work, just have one of your favorites. Instead of four pies of pie at Thanksgiving, just have one. Get the picture?

As we go into this holiday season, enjoy this precious time you get to spend with your loved ones. Enjoy the wonderful food you get to eat! Most importantly, enjoy the people you spend the holidays with.

Dropped

Oh how the hills hurt today. I love getting out and riding with a fun group of people. I feel so blessed by the friends I have made in this sport. I always feel sports can be a great way to find out about the good and bad sides of people, usually it's the good. Today I rode with the shop group which is made up of some seriously great athletes. I'm always happy when I can keep up with the pace which I pretty much did until we turned up the monster of hills. I was at the back of the pack, and suddenly I was alone. I mean alone as in, the last thing I saw was their rear wheels. This was fine and I finally got to the point where I could at least see the last rider. Well, it happened to be Bruce who was waiting for me. Then I saw Barb who doubled back, followed by Bill, who also doubled back. Seriously, these are cool people. We were just a few miles from the shop and I was just fine. But it totally made my day to see a few friends patient enough to turn around and finish the ride with me. Some days you get dropped, the good days are when people come back to pick you up again!

A great year

I can' believe it's been a year since I began "officially" my work as a triathlon coach. It's been an amazing season and I can't wait until next year! Thanks to my family for your amazing support and to my team. Everyone I work with is truly amazing!!

Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3 Photos

Thank you so much to everyone who was supporting me out at Lake Stevens 70.3 this year, both in person and in spirit! Thank you Jess, Karie, Aaron, Sam, Hannah, Sheri, Darlene, Bri, Jim, Mom and John. Of course, a huge thanks to Eric and the girls for your everyday love and support! Thanks to John and Darlene for the photos :)

Jitterbugs

As I swam yesterday, I noticed I was really getting nervous for my upcoming 70.3 race this weekend. I saw a couple of other swimmers in the water, obviously triathletes. My mind began to wander away from my positive excitement for the weekend. Am I ready? Did I train hard enough? Am I going to achieve my goals this weekend? The pre-race jitterbugs began to fly in my stomach and I could feel myself tense.

I began to ask myself why I was having a mental boxing match with my self esteem. Well, I was because it's natural and normal to get nervous and anxious for a race. I think to say you aren't nervous when you are really is a disservice. I think it's important to acknowledge the feelings, then work through them.

So, I told myself what I tell my athletes and used a few tools I have learned. My first tool was my faith. I went to what is really important to me and said, what is the most important thing? It isn't triathlon or how fast I go on Sunday or even if I finish on Sunday. I have to have my faith at the forefront of my thoughts before I can move through with the rest. Then I ask myself why I do triathlon. Why do I coach? Why do I compete? There are lots of answers to those questions which I seem to rediscover on a daily basis. Some are deep, some not so deep. After that, I got a grip on why I am competing and I look at the work I have put in this year. A week before your race is kind of like an hour before finals in college. You can't suddenly learn all there was to know in a quarter of school and you can't suddenly attain months of training and fitness one week before the race. What's done is done. Now it's time to relax and mentally focus. I looked at my training for this race and can see where I am stronger and more confident than I was at this point last year. The truth is, there will be some faster and some slower than me on race day. I wouldn't trade an hour of training for an hour less time with my family or coaching my athletes.

The best part about being a coach and an athlete is that I think I get more excited about my athletes accomplishments than my own. I love hearing about how they finish something they have always wanted to do and how they feel like "now they are swimming". I love when they tell me about their new goals of completing a longer distance and new race. I love it when my neighbor tells me she heard my junior team at the pool saying how excited they are for their upcoming race. My favorite is when they say, "don't tell anyone, but I actually like this!" Your secrets are safe!!