"Randomest" Thoughts!

Sometimes, you just get the weirdest, most randomest of thoughts going through your mind (is randomest even a word?) Today was a bit of an odd day, as I found myself distracted, amused, impatient, creative, ticked-off (at how old I'm getting), sad, and finally relaxed. (Aaaahhhhh!) I wish that I had kept a pen and paper with me at all times, so I could jot down random thoughts - but it seems that I'm much more disciplined about keeping pen-and-paper on the ready during workouts.

So I'll do my best. Here we go!

-Need to remember to NOT turn on Animal Planet. As I'm a big fan of animals, this channel is NOT good for yours truly. Just as I sat down to write, I witnessed an anaconda attempting to swallow some kind of big bird (no, not the Sesame Street character!). Great- something ELSE to worry about in the water. Sharks, barracudas, and now anacondas. Good thing I'm not planning on swimming in anaconda-infested water anytime soon. Then again... does anyone know if anacondas have been spotted in Florida? Wait! Don't answer that. I don't want to know.

-But alligators ARE in Florida water. No open water swimming for me, unless I have clear water, a safety crew, and other swimmers to throw in front of me when we get attacked. :)

- I feel like an old geek every time I go into Target. Today my mission was to find Harry Potter 5. I had a 2.5 hour ride, and it was raining off and on all day. Usually I don't mind the rain, but I do mind the :30-:45 commute that it takes me to ride (in the rain). Driving out isn't bad. Its the wet, soggy, traffic-choked trip home that sucks. So I had a date with Harry. Harry, has become quite popular. As have DVDs in general. There's quite a selection of different types of DVDs to choose from - types, not movies. There's Blue Ray, HD DVD, and then the regular. And the regular is way in the back, out of the way of the "new stuff". Humbug! I searched for 5 minutes before I gave up and called Nathaniel.

"Hello?"

"Sweetheart - I have a problem," I plowed on. "Is it okay if I get an HD DVD or Blue Ray? Or do I have to get the regular kind."

I could hear him smile. "If it's there, go for the regular DVD. Our player won't be compatible with the newer stuff."

Oh.

(As in: our crap is too old for the new, up-do-date stuff... as in, what works perfectly well for us in our "old age" will soon be obsolete).

Great!

- While we're on the topic of Target. I love wandering the isles, having a grand old time. Didn't realize how many wonderful goodies Archer Farms (Target's food company) has made. So I had to put on my blinders and plow through. If it's in the house, it has no chance of lasting a few days without being devoured by The House Monster, Nathaniel, or me (not necessarily in that order). But they do have - wait for it, wait for it... - "wine in a cube". For $10.00, you can purchase wine-in-a-box. That's $8.00 more than what I've seen anywhere else. But... new and innovative? We'll have to see, as (real softly...) ahem, i bought one.

-After spending the past 3 bike workouts on the trainer, all above 2.5 hours, suddenly it doesn't seem that hard anymore. Uncomfortable? Yes. But - it's weird to say this - I'm getting used to it. If it's thundering, just put on a great movie, great tunes, and away I go.

- I get motion sickness when I workout and try to read at the same time. Which is why movies or music is the option on the trainer. Which is why I went to Target in the first place, and felt bad about how behind-the-technological-times-I-am.

- Why does it take a single match to start a Forest Fire, but my husband can't light the grill with an entire box of matches and lighter fluid?

-One annoying tune (cue: Alvin & The Chipmunks) can get stuck inside of your head, and loop around again and again and again and again and again...

- Sometimes when swimming - the slower stuff (ie technique and drills) makes me feel nauseated and head-achy, whereas during the fast sets, my nausea goes away, but I can taste my oatmeal afterwards? What gives?

- Why does chocolate have to have so many calories? Especially the little, teeny-weeny pieces. Not that I'm anal about this kind of stuff (okay, I am a little - but again I have the genes/past physique of a shot putter - which I did to great success during my high school days...) But, come on! There's a chocolate Santa sitting in our kitchen fruit bowl (Impostor!), just staring me down, day after day. When I chanced a peek at the sucker, I put him down, horrified. My plan of chomping off his head was quickly squashed. (Where's Nathaniel or the House Monster when I need them?)

- Celery with Peanut Butter and dried cherries is my new favorite vegetable. Er, I mean "snack".

- I can spend hours customizing Splish suits. And they DO have great customer service - Danielle wasn't the only one. In my inability to handle even the simplest of computer tasks, I forgot to add color to the back of my suit. A very nice email was sent, inquiring if I wanted the back to be white, of if I wanted it to match the front. Phew!

Same color front-to-back please! Thanks Splish!

-After my email kept going off, I went stir crazy. It would bleep, and I would check. Bleep and I would check. Bleep check bleep check bleep check... Need to make a resolution to check the email only a few times a day, rather than have the flippin' thing open on my desktop at all times. I hear it Beep, and I come running. (Can anyone say "Pavlovian response?")

-After not wearing underwear with my bike shorts for the past few months, leaving underwear on is quite a rude awakening.

- Politics can get dirty. And ugly. Sometimes I wish that a leader who imbued some of the qualities of Maximus from "Gladiator" would run for President. Then again, anyone who had similar characters to Maximus, would never seek top political power anyway. It's only January, and the mudslinging is going on already. Boo! Double Humbug! Even though Nathaniel and I cancel each other's votes out (most of the time), we're both agreed on this. (Plus, Russel Crowe - meow!)

- You realize that life is short when an actor that you really liked tragically passes away. I don't really think Heath Ledger would have wanted all the hoop-la that has thus far surrounded his death. Very sad. But makes you appreciate the life you have, the people you love, and remember to live each day to its fullest.

- I'm not the only one who admits to peeing in the shower. Hurrah! Anything to get through a sore-leg day.

- It takes my body about 36 hours (give or take) to get through the most-severe-pain associated with a hard workout. Probably more had I not done the ice bath thing. However, I like being able to walk normally and not crash onto the toilet, so the ice will stay.

-If a blister on your 4th little toe starts forming :45 minutes into your ride, the WISE thing to do would be to put on a pair of socks. They were exactly 18 inches away. Sometimes the most obvious things are the most difficult to see.

-Animal Planet is still evil. Viewers beware: if you love cute, little animals, don't watch.

-There's a Weight Watchers two doors down from a Marble Slab Creamery. And I just witnessed one lady leave the WW and head in for the ice cream. Makes you wonder...

-And speaking of things that you'll see in traffic: don't pick your nose. Someone is always watching. I don't know who was more embarrassed - the guy who I saw doing it, OR when he realized that I had seen him picking his nose.

- World Record for cracking coconuts: 200 in 3 minutes. The guy used just his elbow to accomplish this feat. (And people think I'm crazy for training for an Ironman). Ouch. Seems like he would need the ice bath and Ibuprofin more than me.

So - those are just a few things today. Odd, how your mind works when you're training for an Ironman. You've got lots of time to think, to ponder, to question, to focus. And sometimes it's really neat to follow your train of thoughts, even if they take you in the most unexpected directions.

I'm excited about what's in store for tomorrow... hopefully nothing involving sharks, animals getting devoured, icky politics, Pavlovian responses, nose-picking, uber-new technology, reappearing oatmeal, or any other stuff like that. I'll stick to peanut butter, training, custom suits, ice cream (skip the WW), chocolate, and good movies. And my wandering mind, of course.