March 15, 2018 – Trying to Tri

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”

Hello Again!! It has been a *very* long time since I’ve posted anything. Spring is on its way! And it is as beautiful as ever in sunny California!

Let me bring you up! Everything is the same. God is still on His Throne. Work is still work. Husband is still better than I deserve. Kids are still crazy. Michael Jackson is still the Greatest Entertainer who ever lived. And running is still a constant comfort.

As always, I am just a mediocre athlete, trying to stay in my jeans!


Just as there are tiny changes to the Seasons in glorious Southern California, there have been tiny changes to my workout regimen. One of the most significant changes is that I signed up for the Santa Barbara Triathlon in August. If you have followed me at all, you know how I feel about other forms of exercise:

Bikes are for Suckas.
Yoga is for Weed Smokers.
Pilates is for Hipsters.
Swimming is for Babies.
And Running is the Sport of Kings! Or in my case, Queens.

While all of these things may ring true, I have to confess that I am still in love with Felicia (She’s my bike. She’s hot!). I have ridden with a Cycling Club for about two years now and I really don’t know what I would do without these people.

So Bikes are now cool.

Yoga and Pilates are still for weirdos. Sorry. I don’t even know how to talk to you folks.


But, Swimming…….. Swimming…… Swimming.


I can’t say I’m a big fan. But swimming is the first leg of the race, so I have got to get it in! Which means I need a pool. Which means I joined a Gym. I realize this flies in the face of my previous assertion that all gyms are crawling with herpes and staph infections, but what am I to do? I’m already registered! So I gotta swim.

And this is no joke! I am not a strong swimmer and the race takes place in open water!
THE OCEAN!!!
That’s crazy, right? I can’t be the only one who thinks so, can I? Swimming in the ocean is not something humans should do!!

Here’s how I see it: If a stranger walked into your house, unannounced, uninvited and unwelcomed, You might let him walk through your house. As long as he doesn’t appear to be a threat to you or your family, you might just let him have a look around and leave when he’s done. You might do that. But no one would fault you for being tempted to shoot him!!

The Ocean is the Shark’s HOUSE!!! And I can’t blame it for wanting to kill me!!! And yet here we are, paying money to invade the home of a known killer. Just to swim a few meters!!! (500 to be exact)

I don’t get it, but that’s how it goes. So we must train for it.


So now swimming is, well… It’s not cool. It’s crazy….. which is kinda cool.


In other News!

While I absolutely still believe that Michael Jackson is the baddest man to ever hold a mic, I gotta give proper respect to this guy!

I’m taking my husband to see Bruno Mars for his birthday!!! For my husband’s birthday, not Bruno’s birthday. I know it’s exciting, but I can’t run around with misplaced pronouns!

This is SUPER exciting for me!! Bruno Mars is one of the very few artists that I will mention in the same sentence with Michael Jackson. I never got to see Michael in concert when he was alive. So when I learned that Bruno was coming to Los Angeles, I couldn’t pass it up. I’ll letcha know how it goes.


Also, here is a pic of me and the kids going to see Black Panther.

This movie was great! If you haven’t seen it twice, go see it again! It’s amazing. The acting, the writing, the cinematography, the costuming, the casting. I can’t say enough about this movie. Everything about it was remarkably well done. My whole family loved it. Wakanda Forever!!


And now, for the Run


I ran a quick 2 miles on Tuesday. It had been quite a while since I had run at all. About a week. This is unusual for me. And after a week, my body began to rebel a little bit.

If you know a little bit about my backstory, you know that I was diagnosed with DCIS about 4 years ago and have been on Anti-Cancer medication for about 3 years. One of the side effects of the medication is Anxiety. Previously, I had never suffered with anxiety, so I never realized just how aptly named it is.

Anxiety is a terrifying condition that afflicts millions of Americans and there absolutely no shame in it. If you think you might suffer with Anxiety, don’t hesitate to get help. Many women who are on Tamoxifen (and other medications) also take Anti-Anxiety meds.

I don’t take Anti-Anxiety meds because, fortunately for me, running keeps it completely in check. But I gotta run! And when I don’t, my body reacts. Poorly.

Check out my heart rate on my last run:

I was taking it *really* easily. I walked the first half and my Heart Rate still reached 198!! That is dangerously high!! Seriously. If you need it, get help. Anxiety is unnecessarily hard on your body.

When I am running regularly, my normal Heart Rate stays pretty low:

This was a snapshot of my Heart Rate while I was at the office! #SuperStressful
My Resting Heart Rate is even lower.

My point is, Anxiety is real. If you or someone you know suffers with it, get help. Fast.


So…. We’re all caught up now! Not much has changed. And not much as stayed the same. I will write again soon.

As always, see you on the next run…..

….. And get your Mammogram!