Shifting Gears

If you’re a Kingston Trio fan then you know that my blog title is also the title of their Christmas album.  It’s an album that the Starter Husband and I had our first Christmas but I can’t remember if we bought it or he already had it.   I can assure you that if we bought it, we purchased it at The Record Shop.  A big High Five to anyone who remembers that place!

We were also fans of the Beach Boys Christmas album so my daughters grew up singing those songs too and of course acquired the tapes and then CDs of both – and I also have the albums in CD.  I’m betting Tammy has the original LPs.

As a purist I don’t listen to Christmas music voluntarily until December first – and I limit the use of my Christmas coffee mug to this month too.  My red latte mug made its 2009 debut this morning.

So today I’m hauling decorations out of the attic and sorting through them to see what I really want to use and what needs to go to the thrift shop.  Decorating the living room and dining room will be easy since all the stuff from those rooms is still boxed up from the flooring project.  It’s rather fun to start fresh with an empty palette with nothing in the way.

And now I can officially say “Merry Christmas” – none of that “Happy Holidays” crap for me!

Officially it’s not yet winter but let me declare that I have reached my quota on snow – and it didn’t take much either!  We awoke in Tucumcari, NM yesterday to see lots of white stuff falling from the sky.  The truck was already covered and Mulligan got a very short potty break before we all jumped in and were off heading east.

We knew a winter storm was predicted for the area so our hope was to drive out of it quickly.  One of the advantages of traveling long distances in a day is that you usually run out of bad weather – but not always!  We had plenty of white stuff until after we passed Amarillo and by then Burl was driving 45 MPH and no one was using the passing lane on I-40.  It was that bad.  Heavy snow and fog – not a great combination.

By Amarillo the ground was completely covered and I declared that I was at my snow nadir!  (Note to Grammar Police who read this blog – that word was thrown in for Tammy – it’s a family joke.)  I didn’t want to get out in the stuff but after a couple of hours on the road, Mulligan and I needed a pit stop.  Texas has wonderful rest stops and while we were there we learned that we would be driving out of the winter storm in about 5 miles – the people heading west weren’t so lucky.

We endured rain – often heavy – until about the time we reached the Missouri border but we made it home safe and sound and that’s all that matters.  Mulligan was delighted to be home and has made sure we stay in his sights at all times – I think he’s a bit concerned that we may offer him a ride again and he won’t get home for a few weeks.

It’s good to be back and get into my lazy routine.  The few weeks before our trip were consumed with the flooring project so I was delighted that today Burl is driving a church group to Branson and I have the day to myself.  Yes, I’m selfish – at least with my time today.  I’ve been to the gym and ran some errands and am now looking forward to laundry and some cyber-shopping.

It’s Cyber Monday – it’s un-American not to cyber-shop, isn’t it?

I understand the whole concept of Thanksgiving Day but I try to remember to give thanks each and every day for the many blessings I have in my life.  We heard a sermon recently that addressed the line in the Lord’s Prayer of “give us this day our daily bread”.  Specifically I need to remember that each day God gives me exactly what I need and nothing more – so if I am thankful on a daily basis then technically, every day is Thanksgiving.

But no one ever said I was a quick learner so I’m thankful for Thanksgiving Day to remind me to count my blessings and find goodness in all God puts in my path.

My Thanksgiving began at 4:40 a.m. when the iPhone alarm sounded and I bounded out of bed.  By 5, Mike and I were on the road to Goodyear for me to participate in my first triathlon.  Mike keeps telling me to say it’s my “first” because he doesn’t think it will be my last.  We’ll see.

The night before he made sure my bike was ready (good thing he checked – I had a flat due to old rim tape so he not only replaced the tape but changed the tire too) and then marked me for the event. 

I'm official with my race number and age!

Most of the participants used magic market to place their race number on their arms plus their age on the back of their leg.  But Mike is a stickler for doing things in the Ironman tradition so he got out his stencils and stamped me so I’d look like I knew what I was doing.

As we neared the race start on Thursday morning he dropped me off with my bike so I could get a good transition spot and he parked the car and then brought the rest of my gear.  I had no idea how much I’d appreciate valet parking along with a personal coach but he made the whole process totally anxiety-free for me – even provided a special belt to hold my race number instead of having to pin it to my jersey.

The youth tri started at 7 and when all the kids were done, the men started their run leaving just the women to start 10 minutes later.   The starting line was in a wide drainage culvert and as soon as we exited, Cindy joined me and ran alongside me for the rest of the run.  She got water at the aid stations, shouted encouragement and generally kept my mind off worrying.  I was certain I was at the very back of the pack so when we made the first turn it was encouraging to see so many who were wwwwaaaaaaayyyyyy behind me.

Finishing the 12-mile bike ride

 I knew my bike time was better than expected and now my only concern was if I’d saved enough energy to get through the swim.

I racked my bike, peeled off everything except my swim suit, grabbed my goggles and cap and raced to the pool where I had to jump in feet first.

During most of my training I never had to share a lane and I just assumed I’d be so far at the back that no one else would be near me – however that wasn’t the case.  I’d also never swam after using my legs so strongly so Mike warned me I might flounder for my breath on the first lap.  I’m glad he warned me because I made sure I started slow and got my breathing into a normal rhythm right away.

Coming down the last lap

Crossing the finish line!

Third in run, second in bike and swim - third for my age group.

At Mike’s suggestion, Burl and I stayed around for the awards ceremony while the rest of the family went home to start dinner. 

With my bronze medal

 Usually I’d feel this obligation to be helping with dinner but yesterday I decided that I’d earned a break – plus who knows if/when I’ll ever get another plastic bronze medal!

Burl even drove straight to Mickey D’s to get me a Diet Coke without being prompted.  What a great guy he is.

Of course by time I got back to Mike’s and showered most of the meal prep was done so I just grabbed a beer and sat on the patio and enjoyed the 80-degree sunshine.

We had 15 adults and 6 boys (ages 2-17) along with 6 dogs so the house was truly a zoo.  With everyone pitching in on the food we had way too many options.  I stayed traditional with turkey and dressing over the ham and sweet potatoes and I passed on the pumpkin and pecan pie to enjoy some to-die-for pumpkin bars that Annie’s sister, Aimee, brought.

By 7:00 I was about to crash on the couch from the effects of the tri, turkey and some great white wine – and Cindy, Stacey and our friend Cristette were making plans for a midnight raid on Chandler Mall where the first 500 shoppers to spend $100 would get a $50 gift certificate.

They were among the first shoppers in the Lego Superstore but by time they paid, the line at Mall Customer Service to get the $50 gift certificates was wound all around the mall so they gave up and got home about 3:00 a.m.

By then I was enjoying a deep recovery sleep with dreams of my next triathlon dancing in my head.

On Thursday morning I’m going to participate in my first triathlon.  It’s called a Sprint Triathlon because the distances are short in each event – at least they are short for real athletes.  For someone like me, they are plenty long!

The course requires that I run 2 miles which is about the max that my legs, lungs and funky left knee will take.  Then I transition to my bike and ride for 12 miles which should be fairly benign.  And I finish by swimming 400 meters in an outdoor heated pool.

Over the last couple of months I’ve been half-heartedly training in between laying wood floors.  I know I can do each event on its own – what I haven’t done is put them all together!

Today Mike took me to the YMCA which is hosting the event and showed me the course layout and let me do a mini-tri along with a tutorial on how to transition. 

The run starts in a wide drainage culvert – we run about .2 mile, climb a short hill, run on a soft gravel trail for another .5 mile and then out into the street.  I was glad I got to experience the start of the run because I’ve done all my training on hard surfaces and this is definitely different.

I did the drainage ditch run along with a short bit on the gravel trail and then doubled back to the parking lot where I had laid out everything I’d need to transition to the bike.  Under Mike’s guidance, I changed shoes, put on my helmet and took off on a run with the bike to the “mount line” where I could then get on the bike and take off.

The biking course is a 3-loop route around several blocks and due to heavy traffic, I did a simulated bike ride in the parking lot and returned to what was now the “dismount line”.  I got off the bike, ran to my transition point where I put the bike up, took off my bike sandals and helmet and grabbed my goggles and hat.

I then ran across the parking lot and through the YMCA (a more direct route will be available during the event), jumped in the pool and swam.  Since I couldn’t remember how many laps I had to do, I swam several more than necessary but it was good to get the feel of the pool.

It was encouraging to know I will end at steps where I exit and then cross the finish line.  I feared if I had to hoist my bod out of the pool, I might be there next week!!!

I really appreciated Mike putting me through the paces and I think it was fun for him to share this passion with me and teach me the ropes.  At least now I’m not quite as nervous as I was.  He also told me the men will start 10 minutes before the women so I won’t have to run in a crowd of 500 at the start.

We have to have our bikes in place prior to 6:30 on Thursday morning and since Mike wants to snag a prime spot (first come, first served) he suggested we leave home about 5:00.  That’s 5 in the morning!  Since the youth race is first, maybe I’ll have time for a nap before I start.

We’ve been so busy these last few days that I haven’t had much time to think about training.  I did get in a 20-mile bike ride yesterday and tomorrow I plan to do a long walk at a more leisurely pace than normal.

My goal is to finish in under 95 minutes.  I’ll keep you posted!

We’ve had a wonderfully long and exhilarating day watching son Mike participate in the Arizona Ironman 2009.

We left Mike and Annie’s house shortly after 5:30 and still had trouble getting there for the shotgun at 7:00.  Finally Burl left me off near the bridge so I could watch since he saw it when Mike did his first event in 2006.  Naturally my good camera failed me when I needed it so I had to resort to the iPhone! 

Imagine 2600 piranhas in the water and you get an idea of the flurry of activity when the gun sounded!  The water temp was 65 and the athletes had to tread water for over half an hour before the start.  No wonder so many of them were shivering when they exited the water and run/walked/limped to the bike transition area.

Thanks to the wonders of cell phones, Burl and I found each other in the crowd and had a great viewing point to see the swimmers as they ran by.  Too bad we missed Mike in the throngs of people going by.  He did the 2.4 mile swim in 1:06:26 and we knew he’d be happy with that time. 

He transitioned to the bike (total time of 4:52 to transition) and then was off for the 112-mile bike ride.  We got another great vantage point and were rewarded with a quick glimpse of Mike as he made the turn at the end of his first 37-mile loop. 

His total time for the bike ride was 5:13:22 and I guarantee you he wasn’t hanging around rest stops eating and drinking like I do in the MS150!

By now it was almost 10:00 so we got some coffee and a bite to eat and sat at an outdoor cafe and engaged in a favorite activity – people watching!

At noon we met friends Dave and JoAnne for lunch and a belated celebration for our mutual wedding anniversary.  Between us, we’re now up to 42 years of wedded bliss and Dave joked that in 4 more years we can celebrate our 50th!  These friends used to live in Springfield but retired to Sun Lakes a few years ago.  We also share a love of motorcycling and always try to see them when we’re here.  Between our activities and theirs it was tough to find an hour for lunch but we’re already making plans for a motorcycle trip when we’re here for the winter.

We got back to the Ironman area just in time to see Mike run by us on his first lap of the marathon. 

He was in high spirits and high-fived us.  We knew he was making great time but still said a prayer for him to finish safely as we’d already seen athletes leave the course.  The cut-off time for the swim was 2′30″ and 10 participants didn’t meet that deadline.

We were so impressed with how well the volunteer efforts were coordinated and how smoothly the event ran.  The transition areas were set up so the athletes could grab their gear bags quickly, change clothing and get on to the next event in the most efficient time. 

Athlete transition area

This photo shows just a small part of the transition area where they picked up their gear bags and went to the changing tents on the right.

Mike had predicted he’d be at the finish line between 5:00 and 5:30 and after seeing him again on the run, we knew his timing was correct.  Burl headed to the finish line in time to see the first pro cross it in record time of 8′13″ and I met Annie at the First Wave tent (Mike’s Tri club) and helped cheer on the runners for a bit.

By time I joined Burl, the crowds were in high gear at the finish line.  The announcer was great at giving the name of each finisher along with their age and some quick facts.  I especially loved the guy who listed his occupation as “Trophy Husband”!  The music was blasting and the crowd was enjoying singing along so it was like one huge party.

And then we heard, “And here comes #921, Mike Brown, a physician from the Phoenix area who is completing his 4th Ironman.”  Naturally we went nuts!  10 hours, 19 minutes and 3 seconds after he started, Mike crossed the finish line. 

He was still moving faster than I do when I attempt to run so it was hard to get a clear photo of Mike under the official clock as he crossed.  But there’s no mistaking his Dad’s proud smile when we met him in the athlete’s area a few minutes later. 

Mike with his proud father

For the last couple of days I’ve been fascinated with watching Mike’s intense preparations for the Ironman competition which is tomorrow. 

Last evening he attended the athlete’s banquet and meeting on the campus of Arizona State University.  His best friend, Dan, was chosen to sing the National Anthem so they both got to enjoy VIP seating.   The food was called “Dinner Impossible” and featured chefs who prepared dishes relating to swimming, biking and running since those are the Ironman events.  Best of all, it was filmed for the Food Network and should air in January or February – and may include an interview with Mike!

He chose from the “swim” line where all the offerings related to fish – he said the “run” line featured things with legs and he never got near the “bike” food line.  I’m curious what that was.  Guess I’ll have to catch is on the Food Network!

Mike has been following a strict training schedule for 30 weeks which includes getting up at 3:30 some mornings in order to get in his prescribed event and time before heading to the hospital or clinic.  He’s also been very diligent about his nutrition which is why his body fat is about 6 and Annie buys his slacks in the boy’s department at The Gap!

We knew that our opportunities to see him prior to the event would be limited but he’s been gracious about making time for us over the last couple of days and also answering endless questions from me about the whole process.  In addition, he has watched several hours of Ironman competition that he taped.  I find it grueling – he finds it inspirational.  My favorite is a lady named Harriett Anderson who is 72 and recently completed her 8th event.

My friends need not worry – no way am I about to tackle that goal!

This morning Mike kicked his preparations into high gear.  He laid out all his gear in the living room and double checked his spreadsheet which listed all his gear and nutrition.

Starting on the left in the chair, he had his wetsuit for the 2.4 mile open water swim that will start at 7 a.m. when the air temp will be around 50 and the water around 64.  Brrrr!  Even worse, they get in the water and have to tread water until the start gun goes off and everyone’s time clocks begin.

On the floor he has his triathlon suit which he wears under his wet suit and which will stay on for the 112-mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run too.  The green bag is his Morning Gear Bag followed by a Bike Gear Bag and a Bike Nutrition Bag (blue bags) and then the Run Gear Bag and Run Nutrition Bag (red bags).  He has prepared all his intake for tomorrow and through trial and error knows how many and what kind of calories to ingest and at what points during the day.

This event is not for sissies – it’s a true scientific endeavor.

Finally there’s his bike which was specially built for him.  He will carry a spare tire on top of the crossbar in case of a flat.  It’s a tubeless tire and he can change it in about 60 seconds.  He had rented a back wheel for $200 and it was supposed to monitor his energy output – but unfortunately it didn’t work and so he’ll rely on his regular back wheel.  I think Annie was secretly relieved!

So about noon today, he loaded everything into his SUV, picked up his friend Dan and they headed to Tempe where they will participate in a Fellowship of Christian Athletes event this evening and then spend the night close to the start line.  Since it’s an hour away he didn’t want to take chances of anything going wrong in the morning.

His last act before he left was to send an email to the family letting us know we can follow him online tomorrow.  If anyone is interested, his race number is 921.

He also publicly thanked his wife for her daily support and understanding.  He calls Annie his IronWife and we agree – and when he acknowledges that she has sacrificed a great deal, she heartily concurs!

Paybacks may be tough, Mike!

It’s early bedtime for us tonight since we plan to be there for the starting gun at 7 in the morning.  We’ll watch his transition to the bike about 1′15″ later and then come back later in the afternoon with Annie and Devin to watch him finish.

If it feels like a long day to me tomorrow, I can only imagine how it will feel to Mike.

Greetings from Phoenix – the whole family is here which means Mulligan also got in on the family vacation.  He proved to be quite a traveler despite spending lots of time in the back seat of the truck.  Of course Burl put the seat up and installed a platform he built for Mulligan and then added his food and water dish along with his feather bed and favorite toy. 

Trust me, the SPCA will not be coming after us!!

Yesterday was a VERY long day – we left at 7:45 and before we had gone 30 miles, Burl remembered that he forgot to pack my bike pedals.  GRRRR!  He was the self-appointed packer of all biking gear and it wouldn’t have been a big deal except I’m doing a triathlon while I’m here and can’t ride without pedals.  DUH!

So we returned home, got pedals, and left again at 8:45.  It was 11:15 p.m. CST when we arrived at our hotel in Albuquerque and 15 1/2 hours of traveling is about twice my enjoyable limit!

The good news is, I drove less than 200 miles so the rest of the time I got to read and knit.  I finished one Christmas gift, made a baby gift and started another Christmas gift – plus read several short stories in John Grisham’s new book “Ford County”.  A very productive day!

We had a picnic in western Oklahoma mid-afternoon and Mulligan got a long walk which held him for several hours.  When we got to the hotel, I took him out for about 10 minutes and then he crashed on his dog bed which we put in our room.  He’s used to getting up during the night and going outside to eat or whatever but he slept like a log – just like we did!

Today was a much shorter day since we only had about 450 miles to cover instead of 850 like we did yesterday.  We had breakfast in Gallup and then stopped at a great rest stop just inside Arizona and Burl had his morning nap with Mulligan and I got our exercise.  Normally we drive to Flagstaff and head south on I-17 but today we opted for a new route taking 87 south from Winslow and coming out on I-17 at Camp Verde.  We already know we want to take this road on the motorcycle because it was smooth, curvy and lightly traveled - plus it took us through spectacular scenery and we escaped the boring I-40 offerings which we’ve seen often.

We were anxious to get to Mike and Annie’s to see our little Devin and it was fun to hear him talking and saying our names – I’m Nyah Nyah and Burl is Yeah Yeah which are the Chinese names for paternal grandparents.  Cool, huh?

What was really interesting was seeing Mulligan interact with his dog relatives.  Roxie and Rocko are little white furball teacup Maltese and after Devin, they definitely rule the household.  Roxie immediately took to Mulligan but Rocko had to make sure Mulligan understood the canine pecking order!

Just a few days ago, Mike and Annie rescued a 15-month old German Shorthair Pointer named Lainie so she’s not only adjusting to the two tiny terrors but now had Mulligan invading her territory!  So far, so good – all the dogs seem to be getting along well and are playing nicely.

For us as parents, we’re quite relieved since if Mulligan had failed this test, we’d have to stay home all winter since I won’t be a snowbird and leave him behind.

Just hope he doesn’t freak out when he doesn’t get to sleep in our room tonight – he has to stay downstairs like a “dog” and he doesn’t understand that concept!

I’ve been checking items off my “to do” list as we get ready for our trip in a couple of days.  One of the most important things I had to do was finish the Christmas dresses for Julia and Lydia so Tammy can deliver them at Thanksgiving.  They were easy to make – the hard part was finding time to work on them in between laying flooring, trying to train for a triathlon and having company. 

But they are done and I’m very pleased with the results – just wish I could see the girls when they try them on.  The dresses are made of dark green no-wale corduroy and the sashes are a taffeta Stewart plaid – very simple and of course, the dresses are washable.  After all, I was once the mother of a couple of little girls and don’t listen to Tammy if she tells you she never made a mess!

I still have one to make for Bella but since she’s here, I can finish it when we return.  I’m taking the pattern and material with me and will cut out her dress while we’re in Phoenix.  Also need to cut out dresses, pinafores and bonnets to make prairie dresses for Julia and Lydia’s dolls so they will match the ones I made for them.  I’d like to think I’ll also get Christmas doll dresses made too but that’s probably pushing it.

Too much material, too little time………….

We usually reserve eating in the dining room for when we have company or on Sunday evenings when I actually use the good china and silver.  But tonight was a celebration of the completion of the last few weeks of chaos and confusion – plus lots of sawdust, noise from the automatic nailer and numerous “gosh dang it” comments from my personal handyman.

This morning he was inches away from completion of the dining room floors but those last few rows of flooring proved to be the toughest – especially when you consider our house was out of true by about an inch. 

Almost finished.......

 I offered my assistance which fortunately was not needed so I spent the morning doing laundry, packing for our trip and generally staying out of the way.  Next up Burl had to reinstall all the wood around the stairwell and at that point I got to start cleaning the floor.  Several dustpan loads and 6 Swiffer sheets later, we were ready to put down the dining room rug and start moving furniture out of the living room.

Before we ever started this project I knew I would be totally rearranging everything I could – Burl doesn’t seem to realize that going 7+ years without moving furniture in this house has been pretty difficult for me!  We started by turning the dining room table and from there I was off and running.

The dining room looks pretty good now and all I need to do is unpack all the crap/stuff that was in the cabinets.  That probably won’t happen until we return in a couple of weeks and I have decided that a lot of it will stay in storage bins as I got for a more minimalist look and only put out what we actually use. 

Ready for a dinner party

The living room is another story because with luck the piano will soon have a new home in Des Moines which means I will then move the entertainment center/bookcase to where the piano is.  Then I can shop for a couple of chairs and another table or two to make it more inviting.  I hate to get too settled until I know what furniture will actually reside in this room but again, I’m going for the “less is more” look.

Clutter be gone!

Temporary living room arrangement

For now it will stay like it is but I have added a table at the end of the couch near the French doors and have a new lamp that should provide a great place for me to be comfy and read.  I’m not totally enthralled with the couch but not sure what I want (loveseat maybe?  leather?) so this area may be in transition for many months given our travel plans through March.

But it’s nice to be settled again and my handyman gets a well-deserved break for a couple of weeks.

When we return – the main hallway awaits.  Hopefully putting down the flooring there will be a breeze – it will only take 2 boxes of hardwood and we’ve already used 25! 

Now it’s time to finish packing and wrap birthday and Christmas gifts that need to go to Phoenix.

When I came to Drury to attend college many years ago, one of the first local icons I heard about was Riverside Inn.  Nestled on the banks of the Finley River just east of Ozark, Riverside Inn was the scene of many fraternity and sorority formals during my Drury days.  My mother-in-law was a huge fan of Riverside Inn and I remember fondly having birthday and anniversary celebrations there during the 70’s and 80’s – even attended a Junior League Charity Ball there and can recall dancing on the patio on a lovely spring evening.

Riverside was built in 1923 when flooding on the Finley River was not a concern.  Sadly, over the last 76 years, environmental issues have shifted the course of the river and now it floods quite frequently.  I’ve often wondered how they get insurance because common sense dictates that with continued building in the area, flooding is just going to increase but heh, they didn’t ask me!

Enter government (that’s really “taxpayer”) money to the rescue.  To the tune of $1.7 million (small change to Washington, DC), Riverside Inn will be bought by the city of Ozark, town down and turned into a park.  No more insurance claims for flooding, no more fried chicken and corn fritters from Riverside either.

Last week the owners announced that their last day of business will be December 12th.   I quickly got on the phone and called for reservations for Saturday night and then called our friends Larry and Nancy to join us.  They are fairly new to Springfield and while they had heard of Riverside, they’d never eaten there – we didn’t want them to miss the experience.

The place was packed when we arrived at 7:30 but we were immediately led to our table which was covered with white linens and set with lovely china (and charger plates) and real silver (who cares that my soup spoon needed to be polished – it was silver!).  Within five minutes our waiter had placed a plate of cheese, fruit, olives and pickles on our table along with some super-yummy breadsticks.  We ordered a bottle of wine and started perusing the menu which included old photos and a history of Riverside Inn along with the appetizer, dinner and dessert choices.

Burl chose the traditional fried chicken and  I opted for the salmon – both served with homemade chicken noodle soup and an excellent salad.  By time our meal arrived, I was already getting full!  My salmon was a generous portion (I’m guessing 7-8 ounces) accompanied by new potatoes and carrots and green beans that were flavorful although a bit overcooked.  The waiter guessed correctly when he automatically brought to-go boxes at the end of the evening.

So – we enjoyed one last night at Riverside Inn.  We walked through the numerous rooms and admired the murals that Howard Garrison painted on the walls many years ago.  I looked for ghosts of college friends and reminisced the excitement and sophistication  I felt going to formals there.  And I thought about my mother-in-law, Lucille, and how much she would have enjoyed one last evening on the banks of the Finley River.

Looks like the next time I ride my bike through that area, I’ll be greeted by a park instead of a historic Inn.

Thanks for the memories, Riverside Inn.