Queen Songs; Mr. Feeney, Take Me Away; A Chance to Win

Part 1: Queen Songs

 I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE, I WANT TO RIDE MY BIKE.

BICYCLE, BICYCLE!

Oh, how I miss my bicycle...

As I drove to teach Pilates this morning, I couldn't help by notice all of the bicycles on the road. I chuckled to myself as I remembered how much cyclists used to irritate me as a driver. Ughhhh they always ride in the middle of the road! They ride in packs and you basically have to stop if a car is coming your direction. Well, that's just what happens on the back roads of Oregon. When I became a cyclist, my entire outlook changed.

My accident was posted on Edhat. Many people blamed the cyclist (me) for the accident, assuming I had gone without stopping when it must have been the driver's turn. No, indeed, that was not the situation. It upset me at first because I am a very cautious cyclist. Then I realized, people are going to think what they want to think. Nothing I said was going to make them respect me as a cyclist, so I let it be.

I miss cycling though. I miss the pain of climbing a big hill, the feeling of wind trying to knock me off my bike and the taste of bugs plastered to my teeth. Many of my friends are competing in Kendra's Tri and Oceanside IM 70.3 today while I stand here on one leg writing this blog. Poor, pitiful me, right? No, actually, I know I will come back strong. I now have so much desire to come back stronger that I think I will be more in tune with my body and will strive to be stronger, faster and more fit than I was before. I had my three weeks of fun; I'm ready to get back to being a bad donkey.

Part 2: Mr. Feeney, Take Me Away

I logged onto Facebook this morning and my beautiful Wyoming "wife" had posted this on our group site:

So I was watching Boy Meets World this morning (obviously the best show ever) and Mr Feeny was going to retire Jackson Hole but Eric was super upset about it and this is what Mr Feeny said about Wyoming: "People take the time to enjoy gods beautiful landscape. They stop to appreciate their quiet surroundings and contemplate on what life is all about."

Mr Feeny knows whats up.

I've been thinking about and missing Wyoming a lot lately.  This is so true about Wyoming and that's why I must return soon. Thank you, Mr. Feeney!

Part 3: A Chance to Win

Santa Barbara Running is having a fantastic Easter give away! Like us on Facebook then make a comment on our "Easter Basket" photo! We will enter your name in a drawing and two winners will be announced on Monday!!!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Barbara-Running/9884539221

SURPRISE!!! Part 4: Goodbye, Mogli! 

Jameisha, my dear training partner and friend, is moving to Chile. Jameish, you will be severely missed!!!

Remember When You Used To Be Skinny?

Have I earned the right to vent? Probably not, but for the first time in two weeks, I need to be sad for myself. Here's how this is going to go down: I plan to wallow is sadness for about 2 minutes, then I will count all of my blessings. Ready? Okay (claps her hands together like a cheerleader).

After swimming 2,000 meters on the Vasa swim, I decided to go stand on the scale. Weighing in every week is never a fun thing for me. I don't dread the numbers, but that number never seems to change, no matter how many miles I run, hills I bike or burpees I perform. Well, that number changed today. It changed by 7.8 pounds... 7.8 pounds ADDED to my original weight. WHAT?! But how?! I was juicing all of last week with my mom and Genna! I was healthy! I've been good, I really have! I was under my calorie goal every day last week. How is this logical?

I wrote my numbers on the board and looked at the differences between calories expended and calories in from the last two weeks. I definitely had been eating less (about 2,500 calories less), but I also had burned less (try 7,000 calories less). Despair. My greatest fear in life is that I will get fat. No joke. Even moreso than my fears of driving and of ice. It is something I dwell on daily. So I am just soaking in self-pity right now.

But let's turn that frown upside down, shall we?

My boss and his wife made me dinner because they knew I couldn't walk. My friend Chad and his wife made me a meal the next night. My mom flew all the way down to spend the week with me; that was a huge blessing. Caroline and Roger lent me their car. Deb and her husband lent me theirs. My lovely friends offered to bring me things if I needed them. Kim took out half of my stitches yesterday Clare brought me trail mix because she knew I trained with it. Torrey came down for breakfast on Saturday. Multiple people have offered me rides because they know I have no vehicle. My tri friends have checked in on me consistently for the past two weeks. Overall, I have been overwhelmed with the caring community I am surrounded by. It has been a huge reminder to me that this is where I want to be. I am so incredibly blessed.

Plus, I made the best purchase of my life yesterday, so all is right in the world.

My awesome purchase

Cousins!

Love friends who know me

New swimsuit! Something to look forward to!

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Mastering my Degree in Being a B.A.

6am Power of your Om yoga with Alex
7:30am Swim 
 9:00am back to Power of your Om with Sarah
11:30am Two-hour lactate threshold workout on bike
2:00pm Sell shoes with Nick on his last day
6:30 Stellar Nites trail 5k run with Zack, Aldous, Emily, Lisette, Kristine, Ignacio and Amy
8:00pm Pure Awesomeness weights and plyometrics

Beat that, Isaiah


I posted that status at  11:00AM, after having completed three of my workouts. Then I went home and got ready for work, clipped into my bike and rode down the street. 

My helmet.

I had reached the end of the bike path before I realized I was not wearing a helmet. I never forget my helmet. I debated going without it for the day just so I had enough time for my workout. 

You never know what could happen.

I listened to the voice in my head. Turning around, I reached my house as Yo was walking out. "Forgot my helmet," I told her. 

Down the street I rode again. Fifteen minutes later, I found myself at a three-way stop. There was a car facing me and a car on my right. It was my right-of way, so I began to cross the street to the other side. I was 3/4 of the way across the street when I saw the car on my right (which was now directly on my side) move forward. He had gunned the gas, so the reaction time was short. Next thing I knew, my right hip and bike were hit. I flipped up into the air and landed on his hood. He slammed on the breaks and my body flew forward, off the car, to the ground. I sat up in astonishment. I watched as my water bottle rolled down the hill from which I had just climbed up. 

Shock. 

What had just happened? Had I really just been hit? I had always feared this day. People in my town are not the best drivers. They park at the bottom of big hills and open their doors without looking to see if anyone is coming from behind. They text while they drive. They rush to get everywhere and don't pay attention to anyone or anything else. It was bound to happen eventually.

The shock wore off and I started to hyperventilate. I heard the words of my yoga instructor run through my head. Deep breath in. And release it slowly. I came back to reality and found my right leg folded under me, blood gushing from the 2-inch gash the chain from my bike had created. My left leg was sore and bruised. I looked around for my bike. A gentleman rushed to my side. "I moved your bike to the side of the road," he informed me. "I think it's okay."

Oh, thank God.

Then it hit me. I probably won't be able to train for a little while. That's when I lost it. All of the emotions that go along with getting hit by a car flooded my body and I wept. A woman asked if I could move out of the middle of the road and I told her there was no way I could put body weight on my leg. I sat there trying to control my tears as I watched people drive past and I listened to the man who had hit me asking for a cell phone to call his wife. He was an older gentleman who had just finished a round of golf in Hope Ranch. 

Two ambulance came and six of the most attractive men I have ever seen jumped from the vehicles. "Put her in C-spine," one said. One knelt down next to me and asked how I was. Where was I feeling the pain? Could I flex my foot? No. Could I wiggle my toes? Were they numb? Yes. 

"We will take your bike to the police station," one EMT told me. "It looks like it's still in pretty good shape, actually. A few scrapes and the power meter is broken, but it's not too bad." 

"Thank you SO much," I said, sincerely. 

They lifted me onto a gurney, grabbed my bags and to the hospital we went. 

"What's been the best part of your day so far," I asked the gorgeous EMT next to me. 

"Well, it just started," he informed me. "So, meeting you!"

Marry me?

"If you had a theme song that played every time you entered a room, what would it be and why," I asked... of course (shout out to Sophie Allen because she is going to laugh hysterically when she sees this).

"Ooooo great question. Journey. Don't Stop Believing."

"And why," I asked. 

He told me about his ability to associate certain songs and scents with memories in his life. He said anytime that song comes on Pandora in the morning, he knows it will be a good day. 

"Did it come on this morning," I asked.

"No, actually, which is strange because I was listening to the Journey station."

"Uh-oh," I joked. 

We talked a little bit more about favorite Gu flavors and the word Gu and how funny it was. We discussed his dream to move to Oregon one day and the marathon he was training for. When we pulled up to the ER, he and his buddy wheeled me into the hospital where I went a little insane. I tried to make a joke out of everything the nurse asked. I have no idea what was up with me. The driver was at my side now and he pushed me left to right as doctors, nurses and visitors tried to get around us. 

"So I heard your conversation in the back of the ambulance," he said. We talked about his piercings, Don't Stop Believing, his time spent living in La Jolla, etc. 

"Wait," he said, excitedly. He pulled out his phone and played his ringtone. Journey rang through the speakers and drifted into my ears.

My eyes got wide. "You should play Don't Stop Believing every time your buddy enters the room!"

"You were eavesdropping on our conversation in the ambulance," the other EMT accused his partney as he poked his head around the corner.

I spent the entire first hour of the accident laughing hysterically with these two. Then the nurse took over and started attaching all sorts of equipment to my body. The police came and filled out a report. I was then moved to the hallway where I waited for my doctor. As I waited, I tried to call my parents, neither of who was answering. I started sobbing when I remembered that I would be bedridden for a few days. 

The doctor caught me mid-sob. "Does this hurt," he asked, bending my left knee back sharply. I yelped. "How about this," he tried flexing my right foot. Utter pain ran through my leg. Tears flowed. "Yeah," I said.

"Okay, we'll just cut the rest of this skin that all dirty around it. Since it's a big hole and you don't have a lot of skin down there, they will be open, ragged stitches, so you will have to be very careful about cleaning it and not getting it wet," he told me.

"How long until I can swim again?"

"A few weeks," he said. 

"And run?"

"Ten days until you can walk more comfortably. Running... I would take it easy."

Gulp.

"I have a 65-mile relay in less than a month," I explained. "Will I be okay for that?"

"Sixty-five miles," I heard the interns whisper between themselves. 

"Let's just take it one day at a time," the doctor said. "We'll see how you're feeling and see what comes up in the X-rays."

The X-ray technician, who was from North Lake Tahoe, told me everything looked good. No broken bones. Yay!

The doctor stitched me up and we talked about Bend, Oregon and how he vacations there every summer. Small world. I watched as he cut the dirty, bike-chain-oil-covered skin off from the leg. He stitched it all up, reminded me to keep it clean, told me he would be cheering for me at the National Age Group Championships and gave me a tetanus shot. 

Two hours later, I was finally bandaged up and waiting to be released. Amy waltzed through the hallway looking perfectly gorgeous in her summer skirt and pink cardigan. Why couldn't I look like that? We talked and I cried and laughed. 

I heard two sets of feet coming quickly down the hallway. "Ashlee," my two EMTs were back and they were looking frantically for me. Their faces were bright. The handsome one from the back of the ambulance took the stool next to my bed, sat down and took my hand. "We have something to tell you." 

 "Tell me the good news," I demanded.

"The Pope decided to name himself Pope Francis. We heard on the radio and needed to come back and tell you that. It's going to be a good day."

Again, marry me?

I had already told Amy about these two. I looked up at her as they left and mouthed See? 

"Is it wrong if I ask for his number," I asked Amy.

My EMT friend Chris had seen me earlier, so he came by to check on me. It was so nice to see a face I recognized there, even if I only see Chris when ambulances are involved.  

Finally I was bandaged and ready to leave. I gathered my belongings and awkwardly tried to stand. My legs cramped up and I fell back into bed. I tried again with no success. Third times a charm though, right? I centered my body weight and began hobbling across the floor when my legs seized up and I was stuck in the middle of the hallway, looking straight into the face of another patient. "Amy, I can't move. I can't move."

"Let's go back to the bed," she said, patiently. 

"I legitimately can't move. I would go back if I could," I felt so awkward and embarrassed frozen in the middle of the hallway in my bike kit.

"Here," she giggled as she rolled a stool up behind me and helped me sit down in it. I hurriedly rolled it back to the bed before anyone could witness my awkwardness. Amy got me some crutches and we tried again. Ahhh... much better. 

It was a crazy day with an epic story and a gnarly scar to boot. I am pretty stoked about the scar. I've always wanted one to show off. Be careful what you wish for. 

My get-well buddy

Epicly Pure Awesomeness

This is what I feel like my Wednesday night class looks like sometimes.... love you, boys!

Whip Me Up Some Motivation

3:47AM. The alarm on my phone sounds. Technically, this should be the reminder to eat my banana with peanut butter and chug some water, but the only thing I remember is my desire to not get out of my warm bed to do this deed. I ignore the irritating buzz coming from my green and yellow phone and drift back into sleepy land.

4:45AM. The first alarm of five that will hopefully rouse me from my sleep. I give him an F for Failure because he definitely was not effective at his job.

An hour later, I finally threw the covers off with a strong arm. The chilly morning air met my bare legs and I shivered. Saucony Scofield bounced up from her spot on the edge of my bed and ran to the door, looking at me expectantly. After throwing on my running tights and a long sleeve shirt, I dipped my banana in a tablespoon of peanut butter and quietly opened the door to the living room where Yo slept soundly on the couch.

"Meow, meow, meow," Scofield kept reminding me she was ready for food. I tossed in a handful of dry cat deliciousness and pulled my Saucony Kinvara's on  (Yes, I did name my cat after my favorite racing flat).

Down the still-dark street I trotted. I pressed start on my Garmin and looked at my pace. Wow... that is a slow trot, Ash. Maybe you should just swim instead of doing a track workout. I was not feeling it.

Most of you know, I did the runner's walk off shame off the track two weeks ago. It was pretty humiliating. My pace group abandoned me with their quick turnover. My feet just couldn't stay up. Last week, I had to work for my boss, so I didn't get to do the track workout. I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up with my pace group. Temptation haunted me. A little fat Buddha man sat on my shoulder.

"Just do your own easy run. Go maybe 4 miles and call it a day. You've been biking a lot lately," he urged me.

No, you little fatty face! I'm going to the track. 

As I rounded the corner, I met up with some runners from the group. They were in the middle of their warm-up. It was decision time: Do I join them or do I continue on my own?

"Just do your own thing. You just started your warm-up, they are almost done with theirs. Give yourself some time," he was using logic now.

Okay, Fatty Face; you win.

I sauntered on alone. Hmmm it's actually kinda nice out. Maybe I should go home and get a t-shirt. Oh, and put on deodorant. I totally didn't do that this morning.

I made a right and took the long way home. This would give me more time to warm up anyway. The closer I got to my house, the more tired my legs felt.

"Remember that circuit you did with Perry yesterday? Oh, not to mention the 40-mile bike ride and the hour of swimming? Maybe you should just go home and work on the website."

Darn you, Fatty Face! That sounds so good! Must... resist... the... fat... man's... words.

I ran upstairs and changed shirts, rubbed some scented odor blocker on my underpits then turned and ran back out the door before the fat man could convince me to be a slacker.

When I arrived at the track, the crew was about the start their second set of 2k's followed by a 400. I jumped into the pace group Rusty told me to join and totally forgot that I was tired. It was a strong workout and I could not be happier I did it. Take that, Fatty Face.

Moral of the story: You may not always feel like doing your workout. Motivation may be lacking. Do it anyway. Get out there and at least start it. Once you finish, you will be so glad you stuck with it!

Lifestyle Change

Hello friends,

The past two weeks have been a roller coaster as far as events, emotions and opportunities go. Personally, I believe that everything happens for a reason and you should try to learn from things that happen in your life.

My biggest thoughts were: What makes me happy and what do I want to pursue as a career?

Helping people achieve health and wellness is my ultimate priority in life. Seeing one of my clients or friends accomplish greatness brings a huge smile to my face. I get so many e-mails and facebook messages of friends and family telling me how I inspired them to start running or working out again. How can I take what I am currently doing and pick it up a notch as a career?

These were the resulting thoughts:

I would like to design and implement a 3-month wellness plan. This plan would include nutrition, strength and cardio plans. I would upload videos online for my Strength Pilates classes, create a strength routine based on the individual's fitness level and gender and I would design a nutrition plan in order to cleanse the body and create a strong, well-oiled machine. Basically, I would like to allow you to live your life and focus on your family and work and I will take the guess work out of training and diet for you. Since nutrition makes up 70% of your overall wellness, I really want to key in on how to improve your eating choices.

This plan would include free weekly meet-ups for Pilates, running, strength, circuit, etc, and I will even create grocery lists for you.

These are just pre-thoughts; the beginning stages of a big idea. Please, please, please give me input on how much you think I should charge, if you would be interested in participating, what you would like to get out of it, what you would not want from it, etc. This is a passion of mine and I want to use my knowledge and experience to help others.

Please feel free to forward this e-mail along. You can even participate if you don't live in the area! The videos, exercise routines and nutrition plans will all be made available to you online.

Thanks for your support!

Ashlee
www.ashleetrisharder.blogspot.com
swim.bike.run.harder@gmail.com

Go Hug a Lane Line

The only thing good about yesterday's swim was knowing I didn't have to do it for another two days. My mood shifted drastically between the hours of 1:30PM and 3:00PM. As I walked out on the pool deck, I noticed a man who is often in the pool and always wants to talk my ear off. I only have X amount of time for this swim. Must ignore. Rude, I know, but I had to get my workout in. Quinn sauntered over my way.

"How's the training going," he started off the way he always begins our typical conversations.

I replied with the same response I always give him: "I don't wanna swim!"

Dragging my feet and feeling super uncomfortable in my bikini, I showered off and sat on the side of the pool, feet dangling in the water. I looked at the woman in my lap lane. She was slow, but she seemed to be enjoying herself. Awkwardly, I pulled my cap on and rinsed out my green goggles. Another day, another swim workout...

I could feel my zappos rubbing at my big toe, tearing through the skin. I took them off and continued the swim. The faster you swim, the sooner you finish and the sooner your "weekend" starts.

Sharing a lap lane with people always bothers me. If I'm not in their way, they're in mine. I hug the right side of my lane, just like I do when I drive. I don't know what it is about me and rights, but I always stay on the border, driving on the edge of the road, bumping into the lane line.  Internally, I celebrated when the woman pulled herself out of the water. The lane was mine! Mwah-ha-haa... A young man got in my lane. Dumb.

He was new to swimming and preferred floating on his back. Multiple times, I would swim right into him, despite the fact I was touching the lane line. So much for a speed workout. "You are fast," he said as I stretched out.

"Oh, not really," I smiled, shyly.

"No, you are a great swimmer. I am new to swimming." You don't say...

This week has been filled with these types of workouts. My swim last Tuesday consisted of four older Mexican gentlemen walking and lounging in the lanes while myself and another man tried to circle swim. What were they doing? I have no idea. I spent an hour dodging the obstacles they presented.

I am getting very irritated with swimming at the pool. Not going to lie, I am getting tired of swimming in general. Never do I look forward to it. But there is a catch... I am loving what is happening to my arms. My times on the Vasa-swim are going down, too. Dang it. Such a catch 22.

That's all I have to say. I hate swimming. The end.