Iced Christmas

Ryan and I headed to Missouri for Christmas to visit his family and friends. The morning before we left for our 11 hour road trip, I found out that I have been selected for sponsorship by ZOOT SPORTS in 2008. I am so excited to hear about this opportunity as Zoot is an awesome company providing triathletes with the highest quality in racing gear from start to finish. It will be a real treat to race on their triathlon team and represent them throughout 2008 - and hopefully into the future!

So after hearing the good news saturday morning, we headed out the door and drove north till the temperature dropped to about 28 degrees (it was 70 degrees when we left my home) and the wintery mix started all around us. And that's when we knew we were there! I dont know what it is, but whenever we go up there, it's freezing!! For the longest time, Ryan told me the weather in southwest Missouri was mild - averaging about 10 degrees below our temps here in Mandeville. I took that for truth...and that's the big joke!!! Last year, we went up for a few months after Christmas, and they had an ice storm. We had no power for like a week or something and, well, it was a mess. I've been thru many hurricanes, and the aftermath of Katrina(no power for weeks, no phone or cable for 3 months), and it was no fun. But there has never been the added factor of freezing to death in the midst of a hurricane! It was 0 degrees with no power up there.....and when all that passed, it snowed the rest of the time we were there!! hmmmm.....whatever happened to global warming? ha! so that was last year.....
This year there was no ice storm, but there was ice and snow and plenty of coldness, and we poked fun at the fact that this weather comes in as soon as we visit. We had a great Christmas with his mom and family, and headed home yesterday after I had a day of shopping in Springfield. Back to the warm and muggies - it was 65 this morning when I ran...

Catching up

Ok, so it's been a while. I never imagined I'd be so busy in the off-season this year! and I haven't even done half the stuff I intended to do! The last few weeks have been very busy as I have been working to not only get my website up, but also start a Louisiana Triathlon website hopefully to be used as a resource for anyone looking to visit and race or train in our state. It is something the triathlon community desperately needs around here, and I think it's a great opportunity for me to give back to a sport that has given me so much.
Now, for those of you who know me, you probably know this website stuff is WAY over my head, so thanks to the connection of a dear friend and big supporter, I have been working with a company out of Baton Rouge called MODIPHY, and they have been an awesome resource (check them out!). So, please contine to check up on my blog as I vow to update it more regularly, and look for new things to come on my website www.csmithrace.com.
The training has been going OK. I'm struggling a bit with getting it all in through the holidays, but that's to be expected with all the extra stuff going on. I continue to get in most of my key workouts, but have been having a pain in my knee the last couple of days so I decided to not run at all today and tomorrow and see how it feels. I will be visiting Mike Aldridge(my massage guru who cures all my pains) today for a little work - and hopefully it will disappear. Thus far in my triathlon career, I have been very fortunate with respect to injuries, and I plan to continue the streak. When I get little aches and pains like this, I am careful not to run through it, and rest whatever it is until it's back to normal. As for me, I believe that this is the key to keeping a little pain from turning into something big and bad!!! So for now, all is good and I will use these days to rest, recover, and swim a little extra!

Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans

my new website!

Please check out my new website - it is under construction, so bookmark and check back for exciting changes!!! I would love to hear your feedback!

www.csmithrace.com

The Little Things

Sometimes it's the little things that have a HUGE impact.
This morning started off a little rough. 4am - the alarm sounds and I have to peel myself out of bed since i was up past 11 unable to fall asleep. This always happens to me when i start back to training after a break. I'm still not sure why, because logically I would think I would fall asleep from being so tired. but no. It usually takes a few weeks for my body to get used to all this and get into my regular pattern. so anyway, I was out of it early on - drinking my coffee and gathering my stuff for my looming 3 hr workout that i even questioned if i would make it through. i grabbed a banana and made it out the door late, but to the gym in the nick of time to start my cycle class promptly at 5am. as soon as i got my legs moving, i somehow shifted into gear and ended up having a pretty good morning training session. After my weights and stretching, i felt great - glad to have completed a big workout by 8am, and glad to have not gone back to sleep....I was ready to head home for a big breakfast and a shower and when I exited the club, an old(er) man was walking in and looked at me and said "Congratulations!". I was stunned. was he talking to me? I looked around, and it was just me there. I said "thank you", and we both continued walking on. Here's the thing. I looked closley at this old man who must have been around 70, and I have no idea who he is. But he knew me, and knew i did something he thought i should be congratulated for. I can understand people in triathlon knowing i did well in some races this past year, and i am humbled by their support, but to have someone who is pretty far removed from the scene notice....well, it was way cool. What this old man said had an immediate effect on me - I was already feeling good, but now i was feeling great! I still have no idea who he was....