Go Mommy Go!

"If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse;
however if I treat you as though you are what you are
capable of becoming, I will help you become that."
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

So this past year has been a very full year.  I'm looking forward to 2012 and shorter distances.  I came off of 2010 with finishing my first 70.3 at Redman (not knowing I was critically Anemic), then did 2 more in 2011.  Suffice it to say, I think I've got the 70.3 bug out of my system (for the moment) and next year's focus is to get things balanced and right with my body so I can get leaner.

For next year, I really want to make the most of my qualifying spot for the 5150 Hy-vee Nationals.  I know the perfect storm had to happen to actually place, but hey, I had to START and FINISH to make it, right? I'm also going to work on not having to explain how I placed -- I had a good race, that's how I placed.  Right?  right!

Race reports!
JAN - Houston Chevron Marathon (lost the lottery *sniff-sniff*)
JAN - USA Fit Half Marathon
APR - Memorial Hermann Kemah Triathlon (Relay - Swim)
APR - Ironman Lonestar 70.3 
APR - Kona Eastside 2nd Athena
JUN - Tejas Triathlon (Re…

Part of the reason I've not been blogging much is it's the holiday season and there's much to do.  We're all about holiday fun and making it a great experience for Cassie; that makes it fun for us too.  Here's what we've been up to... in pictures!

Holiday Pictures!  



Festival of Lights
Elfcapades!
Christmas Shopping!
Gingerbread House Constructing!
House Decorating!

Yeah, I know; been slow to post recently.  Busy with home, work and just a general lack of time during the holiday season.

I had to post about RunGirl 13.1 though, because I PR'd.  :) And while it seems that everything is a PR lately, keep in mind I have a lot of low hanging fruit.  After 2 long years of training, I think some things are starting to s-l-o-w-l-y come toghether.

First, about this race.  TriGril Sports puts on this race.  They do all female races in both triathlon and running and new for next year will be an mud/obstacle course race, "DirtyGirl".  The 2 women who run the race are amazing, and the races never disappoint.  I can't figure out how the two of them do it all (of course with the help of some volunteers).  I always appreciate the effort they make to address everything that is controllable and important to having a great race experience.

You'll find all levels, shapes and sizes of athletes at their races too.  It's a really fun day of ca…

Here's a view I hope you don't ever have to see.  I'd show you a view of my "friends" sitting here with me, but HIPPA police would probably swoop in and confiscate my Blackberry... then what would I do with the remaining hour I have waiting for this goodness to drip from the bag into my veins?

This, my friends, is Iron.  As in that stuff in your blood that helps give you energy and transport oxygen.  Not Iron as in Ironman. :(  Though I wish getting juiced up with this stuff could make my dream come true tomorrow!

So Hemoglobin is up (Yay!).  Iron stores were still low (Boo!)  I should be good now to go forward from here and hope that my vitamin regime, coupled with the procedure in August, will keep me at normal levels.  I started having some heart palpitations, which I recently learned can also be a sign of Anemia.  the palpitations aren't my heart racing, but rather my heart beat becomes irregular in pattern and is a mixture of strong and weak beats.  Ver…