Looking Cool at the Pool

I am noticing some pictures no longer display correctly below, although the pictures and their paths are perfectly fine.  I guess my blog is broken.  I keep saying I am going to move it to my mom's server anyway, but then I get lazy, so I suppose this is good motivation.

You know what else is good motivation?
An awesome bathing suit.

Let me provide a brief back story:
Awhile back, I left my swim suit crumpled up in a wet ball inside my gym back.  The next day (or few days?) later, it thwarted my plan to swim when I found there.  Still in a ball.  And still very wet.

Now, we all know that I am not much a of swimmer, and ideally I use any excuse available to avoid the pool.  But, I do have moments where I convince myself that I am just strokes away from becoming a brilliant swimmer and find myself pumped up at the pool.  I must have been going through one of those phases because I was quite disappointed that my suit was wet and icky and not suitable for wearing.

I figured if I dried the bathing suit, it would get rid of some of the "ick" factor.  I knew from past experiences that putting it in the drier would ruin it.  So then I thought, "But a hair dryer would work!"  only to remember that I do not own a hair dryer.

And then I saw the space heater.

I left my bathing suit draped over the space heater and left the room....and about 5 minutes later, the space heater started beeping  very loudly and the house started to smell like burnt plastic.  It wasn't plastic though. It was my  bathing suit.

The good news is I did not burn down the house. The bad news is my bathing suit had a hole right over the nipple.

I have been known to buy some horrific bathing suits (like the padded one-piece I found on clearance at the mall that was surely meant for a 70-year old with saggy boobs vacationing in Vegas) but even I knew this bathing suit had to go in the trash.

Still determined to swim, I went to Target to score a cheap suit.  It was too close to summer though because the clearance swim suits were gone and replaced with their new "sports illustrated" line of suits. Unwilling to pay $40 for something that did not have any straps, I opted for a black bikini with boy shorts from the Girls department.  At least it had straps!!

It also had ruffles.  And a bow.

Luckily for me, after a few weeks and a few shameful swims, Coeur sports came to the rescue and provided me with a super cute, super appropriate, super comfortable bathing suit, which I just love.  LOVE.

I mean, you really have to love a bathing suit to post pictures of yourself, on the internet, in said bathing suit.

It makes me want to go to the pool.  It even makes me want to go swimming!   The pattern is really cool, too - it is made up of little foxes.  It took me awhile to realize this.  Can you see the foxes?

I promise that I am going to treat this bathing suit with respect that it deserves.

• I am not going to leave it in wet, moldy ball in my gym bag.  
• I am  not going to put it in the dryer.
• I am not going to place it on the space heater or set it on fire or run my car over it.

I am also going to fix my blog.

And lastly, I am going to swim.

Coeur Sports and Tri Scottsdale

It is the first blog post of the year - Happy new year!

The last few months of 2013 were rather rough.  It started with a relentless cold, that turned into a sinus infection, that turned into bronchitis.  It was immediately followed by a wicked, never-ending, antibiotic-resistant virus, and finally one more sinus infection.

This was probably the first "off" season that I really took off.  Towards the end of December, I started finally feeling like myself again.  We visited some family in Chicago and for the first time, in a long time, I was able to breathe during a run.  I was so happy to have my lungs back that I didn't even care that I was inhaling 7-degree air.  In fact, after avoiding it for my entire adult life, I realized that I loved the snow.  OK...I love it for a short visit.  But, if I could run in snow, it means I can run in anything and be a runner anywhere.  Figuring that out, as a I frolicked down the sugary white street, was very liberating.  I felt free.  I felt like a kid again. 

As for my kids, they were not as thrilled or as awed by the experience.  They liked the snow for the first minute they saw it - but that ended with a blood-curdling scream the second they touched it.  

 

We are back in the desert now and running is slowly returning to me. 

I feel sluggish and stiff.

I am still mustering up the will power to get back into the pool.  I question how I ever convinced myself to swim all winter last year.

But, I am sure I will figure it out again and I am excited about 2014.

My goal is to travel, do races in other states, and step outside of my comfort zone.

At the very least, I will be able to do it style because I am now a proud ambassador for Coeur Sports!  Aside from the cute clothing, Coeur is a company that gives back.  A percentage of their profits goes to charity and I love being part of something that is bigger than myself.  The other girls have fantastic attitudes and their excitement has made me excited.

I am also part of the TriScottsdale Elite Racing team this year.  It will be fun to meet new people, get to know familiar faces a little better, and push myself a little harder.

I am hoping for a PR in 2014, at this point I will settle for one in ANY event - but regardless, it's going to be a fun and stylish year!