She's Almost A Real Person Now!

There is nothing that tastes better in the morning than the oatmeal at my grandparents' house. Sophia and I sleepily made our way to the kitchen for a big bowl of steel-cut oats with strawberries, blueberries and bananas... Weston would be so proud. We took our time getting ready for the day. We had no place to be since we had both decided to take the day off. After listening to some good ol' country music, we drove down to Bird Rock Coffee (my favorite!!! Another first for Sophia) with my parents. We all took our coffee down to Windansea to watch the surf. Although, I forgot my coffee in the car, so they drank while I enjoyed life. Daddy let me borrow his camera and I took some awesome shots of the surfers. One guy had just arrived when we were hanging out at the shack, so I watched him duck dive his way out to sea. I am so grateful this surfer decided to come out when he did! He was making big air and busting out some gnarly 360's! Hello surf photography opportunity! I got some fun shots of him and the seagulls. I hoped he would come out of the water while we were still there, but he was having a fantastic surf session, so I didn't rush him. It took me back to my old dream of starting a surf magazine; maybe I should reacquaint myself with those aspirations.

As we walked up the steep cliff back to the car and hopped in, Sophia looked down at my feet.  "Where are your flip flops," she asked. Are you kidding me?! I have the memory of an 89-year-old with amnesia.







We went shopping in downtown La Jolla before meeting my family at Panera for lunch. My cousin Becca had brought her two sons along; Ryan and Aiden are adorable. Ryan, though only in first grade, can beat most of the fifth graders at his school in running competitions. He is part of the 100-mile club, which is a challenge to see which student can run an accumulative 100 miles during the school year. P.S. I love this idea and want to incorporate it into my life. Sophia and I are starting a 100-mile a month club if anyone would care to join us and be part of the challenge (Weston? Kristina?).

Ryan was so excited to hear all about our race yesterday. I told him I was hoping to run the Western States 100 in a couple of years and asked if he would care to do it with me. He looked skeptical. "Maybe... If I could go slow," he paused. "And if I could bring a water bottle." Alright, so I have a pacer! Sweet!

Two doors down from Panera sits a little shop I like to call... LuluLemon. Yes, it was time for a reward for running so well yesterday. There's always an excuse to buy new Lulu, right? I thought of a few: It's Valentines Day!, this shop has clothes our shop doesn't carry, that striped sports bra is so me... as well as the bright pink tank top. So we got Lulu. And I got Lucy running tights. And Sophia got an amazing cupcake and scarf. No more purchases for me this month. (Insert Sophia's pants)

We went home and threw on our racing shoes... it was time to see what Ryan was made of. Ryan, Aiden, Becca, Paul, Sophia, Daddy and I made our way to my grandfather's tennis courts. We lined up and got ready to race three laps. "Ready," Ryan started. "Set! Go!" We all scurried across the courts. Aw man... his little legs move quickly! We had a blast! He kept trying to hold my hand and pull me back, but he didn't need to... that boy is as fast as Dash from The Incredibles!

After the race, we drove back to Bird Rock to meet my bestie Dana! As soon as we got there, it started pouring! Sophia and I were speeding through the rain when my flip flop struck cobblestone and KABOOM! Down I went. I looked up at Sophia with puppy dog eyes. Really? My Lulus were so wet right on the butt. So fun! But seeing Dana's face made everything better!

We drank our Bird Rock and decided to walk down to Bird Rock Surf Shop then drive to Pacific Beach. The sunset was incredible that night as we drove to La Jolla Shores for a sushi dinner with my parents.

It's Valentines Day

A weekend of firsts it was for Sophia. First time in Downey (for water and Coffee Bean), first time in San Diego, first time meeting my extended family, first time successfully using chopsticks, first half marathon, first time hanging out with Weston, first time at the San Diego Zoo... lucky girl. Those are some great firsts!

Friday night, we had girls' night at my house: painting, movie and conversation. I started a painting, but have yet to finish. I'm not the biggest fan of this one thus far.

Saturday morning, I taught four classes before getting on the road to San Diego. During my Pilates class, I kicked butt! Within the first fifteen minutes, Yumi exclaimed, "This hurts more than being in labor!" Everyone laughed really hard and Heather said, "How is that for birth control?" Halfway through class, I yelled, "C'mon, give it all you got! It's not like anyone is running a half marathon or anything tomorrow!" Yeah... I don't think anyone knew I actually was. I totally wore myself out during class, but it was so good! My glutes were hating me! But I was wearing my new bright pink pants and my neon pink Lulu Energy Bra and a white lace tank and I felt like a giant Valentine! After work, I was walking home and had to wait at the stop light. I swear every guy that passed me turned their head to see my face. They must have all seen my big booty in my pink pants and thought, "What kind of white girl has a butt that big?!"

My little sister is my very best friend. I am a goofball and no one has ever fully accepted that except my sister and parents... until now. Sophia understands me! It is unbelievably wonderful! She is quirky, I am bizarre and together we are a mixture of... well, it's Valentines Day. We goofed off in the car, we made fools of ourselves in Downey, we made the boys at Sushi on the Rock II wish they were our dates, I screamed about a reverse ladybug while Sophia took photos... it was a fantastic road trip.

Weston was waiting for us when we returned home. The night consisted of two hours of me going through my 8,129 songs on ITunes and making a running playlist. I spent so much time and dedication to make the most ideal running playlist. Music was purchased, songs were arranged... it was going to be epic. This was the mix that was going to help take me to the top during my race!

After my mix was complete, Sophia and I curled up into bed and Weston settled in the bedroom adjoining ours. We should have been tired, but after making our playlists and having all of the electricity in the back apartment go out, we were on a high. Giggles came from our room and the rice paper walls could not muffle the sound for Weston; the poor boy had to deal with our high school girl immaturity. We were having so much fun on our slumber party, we didn't want it to end. We finally fell asleep.

Encouraging (?) picture from Mavel

5:20AM
Good morning, Sophia! We woke up before the alarm went off and Sophia told me all about my "mmhmm" responses to her sneezes during the night. Yes, it is true... I talk in my sleep. I "mmhmm" in my sleep. Mmhmm. Then I showed her my moves for Luke Bryan's "Country Girl", which is my "get psyched" song. Weston witnessed a portion of it, too, unfortunately. I threw in some of my hippy dancing. Yes, hippy dancing to country music. It is fabulous. Please ask to see my dance sometime. You will not be disappointed.

We went into the main house and made our oatmeal with bananas, strawberries, nuts and peanut butter. Weston had his special oatmeal planned out plus a protein drink. We were set. We climbed into the back of my parents' car and off we went.

7:11AM Get the bibs. Check.
7:20AM Stand in line for the restroom. Check.
7:28AM Complain about being cold and decide whether we would wear our long sleeve technical tees or not. Decide to stick with our short sleeves/tank tops. Check.
7:30AM Double knot our laces. Check.
7:49AM Walk down to the starting line with the masses. Check.
7:55AM Realize there is no time for a warm-up. Check.
7:56AM Turn on my Ipod and realize my playlist didn't upload. Check.
8:00AM Start jogging in place and trying to maneuver around the slow runners to find our place. Check.
8:04AM Lose Sophia in the crowd. Check.
8:08.43AM Mile 1
8:11AM Catch up to Weston again. Check.
8:16.13AM Mile 2
8:23AM Force myself to think of 10 reasons I'm happy to be here today:
    1. I would be getting ready to walk to work right now.
    2. I don't have to work today or tomorrow.
    3. I'm with Weston and Sophia.
    4. My knee doesn't hurt yet.
    5. My family, friends and home group are all praying for my knee right now.
    6. It is a beautiful day.
    7. I can run.
    8. My pace is faster than I planned... shoot... should I slow down?... nope.
    9. I get to eat Mexican food when this is over.
    10. My pants are bright pink.
8:24.52AM Mile 3
8:26AM More hills?!?
8:28AM Will this hill ever end? Hips forward, hips forward.
8:29AM Oh good. A flat stretch.
8:31AM Another hill?!!!? "Hey Weston. I'll race you up that hill..."
8:32.40AM Mile 4
8:36AM Wow... it is beautiful here!!!
8:36.30AM Wow... my legs hurt. I want to walk. "Hey Weston, go ahead without me. Don't wait up." Weston: "No, no, it's more fun running with someone else." Me: "Poor Sophia."
8:37AM Maybe I should turn back for Sophia? But I don't know where she is. Is that her? No... Shoot!
8:41.55AM Mile 5 Shoot... I'm losing my speed. I started way too fast. I need to slow down. It's too late to slow down. This is a training run, Ashlee. You are not running to compete, you are running for fun. It's okay to walk for a little bit. No, it's not. Weston isn't walking.
8:43AM These hills are killing me. Don't act up, knee... Bye, Weston!
8:52.15AM Mile 6
8:53AM Where is Weston? Is that him? No... shoot. Oh well. Maybe I'll walk this next hill? Not going to walk... Don't do it, Ash.
8:56AM Just pass these guys.
8:57AM How did that bimbo just pass me? Get your hips forward.
9:01.43AM Mile 7
9:05AM Time for my Hammer Gel. Water? Yes, please. Bathroom? I'll hold it.
9:11.20AM Mile 8
9:12AM Okay, I got this.
9:18AM I've really got this! I just passed everyone who passed me earlier!!! This is awesome! Check out my groove! Everyone is looking at me like, "Where did she get her energy?"
9:19AM Hips forward! Charge!
9:20AM I want to dance.
9:21.33AM Mile 9
9:24AM Hills.... Hills! HILLS!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Okay, got it.
9:32.10 Mile 10
9:34AM I got this.
9:40.28 Mile 11 Two miles! Yay! Pace yourself, Ash. Pace yourself! Stop trying to race this guy... he's only 17!  .... Yeah, race him...
9:48.13 Mile 12
9:50AM This 17 year old thinks he is going to beat me... won't let that happen, will I?
9:52AM I don't think I can take one more step. Oh look! That woman is dressed like the Queen of England!
9:54AM .10 Miles?! Ugh... just be done!
9:54.56AM There's Weston.
9:55.07AM Oh, Dad is video taping...
9:55.13AM Sprint, Ashlee, Sprint!
9:55.15AM Hi Mom!!
9:55.17AM Eff... I'm going to collapse...
9:55.34AM I did it! I did it! PR! YAY!!
9:55.45AM Just keep walking...
9:58AM Time to find Sophia!

Who is who?

We finished the race strong and tired and went to Fidel's for Mexican food. Delicious! I love the taste of great food after an epic workout. And I got to see my Aunt Trace Ann and Uncle Cole! What a wonderful sight!

Weston captured the look on my face when Sophia turned down guacamole. Is she crazy?

It was so nice to have my parents at the run supporting me. They have never seen me run before, so it was encouraging to know they were proud of me and would be there to help me no matter what. It was cool to watch Sophia start and finish her first race! She beat her goal time and I was so proud of her (2:12.09)! Weston also set a PR (personal record), finishing in 1:49.23. He was fantastic! I love running with him! I cannot wait until our next event! I also PRed (that makes three of us!) with a finish time of 1:55.34, 8:49 pace. It's not great, but I'm happy with it. That was exactly 3:50 minutes faster than my Santa Barbara half marathon time!

Showers felt so good after the run. We collected our things and left for the zoo. I kept trying to text Dana, who had missed the race because she thought races were in the afternoon? Haha. "Zoo?" I texted. She called. "Zoo tomorrow. Zoo tomorrow." Nooooooooooo! So she did not join us at the zoo. Sad day.

The zoo was awesome! We got Weston an "It's my birthday" sticker, texted Steven nonstop and tried to wake the animals up from their slumber. I was exhausted. I'm not sure how Weston and Sophia were holding up, but I wished I was sitting in a dark movie theater, not walking around looking at awesome giraffes (my favorite!) and elephants (Kaylee's favorite)! Overall, great day at the zoo with my wonderful parents and my awesome friends.

We finished the perfect day with dinner at The Fig Tree Cafe. It was fantastic! One of the best meals I've ever had! Our waiter was hysterical, too, and played Whitney Houston throughout our entire meal. We took lots of pictures for Mavel because she always takes photos of delicious food and we wanted it to be our turn to make her jealous. Mom, Sophia and I shared shots... yup, shots... of energy and antioxidants: Mangosteen, Acai and Goji. Yummmm. We each ordered a different salad. Dad and Weston ordered the chicken and potatoes.

It was time for Peet's Coffee. Yippee! So we walk in and we're standing around chitchatting. Sophia grabs my arm. "I need to show you something," she said. "What?" She wouldn't tell me. She pulled and she pointed. "Is she pointing at that girl? Oh my goodness... she is pointing at that girl! And she is getting really close to her! This is embarrassing! Oh wait... I know that girl! It's... Megan!" So fun!

I can't wait for what tomorrow holds!

Taking Back Wednesday

Another day from hell came to me on Wednesday. It started out REALLY well! Cycle class went well and everyone talked about how sore they were. La-di-da. Then Mavel and I got to Grind it up and chat over bagels. That was lovely. We had some great conversation and I left feeling stoked for my long day.

Then hell arrived. There was no parking at the retirement community, so I was running late for work and got scolded by one of the older ladies in my aerobics class. She did it nicely, but it irritated me. "We've been waiting for you," she exclaimed in her cheery voice. "Maybe if you had more than 5 visitor parking spots, it wouldn't be a problem," I thought to myself. After class, my keys went missing. I had planned to read Drea's blog during my 30-minute break between classes, but my phone was in my car and my keys were NO WHERE to be found. I searched and searched. I walked out to my car, which was parked far down the hill, and they weren't there either. "Bum!" I thought. I called my parents. Neither answered. "AAAAAGGGGHHHH," I groaned. Tears may have formed in my eyes a little bit, but I stayed strong. This is not the first time my keys have run away from me. I decided to check with the receptionist. Low and behold, someone had seen them on the floor in the kitchen when I picked up the water for class and turned them in. Praise Jesus!

I went to my next job later and was just stressed and unhappy all day. "Snap out of it," I thought, but everything seemed to be irritating me. I think I missed my parents a little too much. Circuit class went well though with five new people. Then I went up to my office and the tears came. I sat and I sobbed. Mavel came up and comforted me. Sophia made three. Doug came to give me a hug. Supportive friends are awesome! I really had nothing to cry about, I just wanted to be frustrated. Then the text arrived. I'm not even going to tell you what the text said or who it was from, but it got me excited. All of a sudden, I had to change my class routine. Since I have my half marathon this weekend, I was going to have an easy class, but this text changed my mind. "Alright," I thought. "How hard can I kick these people's butts?"

Class was so fun! I had twenty participants and they all had a good time! Not one person completed every single workout without having to take a break. Even Oliver, Jameisha and Austen, who have perfect form and are athletes, were struggling. Take that, Wednesday!!

After class, Sarah, Sophia and I grabbed dinner then I went home and talked to Steven for over an hour. I miss that kid so much! Steven, come home!!!

Thursday made up for Wednesday 100% and more! It was a fantastic day. I taught a 6AM and 7AM class for Bob then went to meet my first client at 8:15 at my next job. I was dreading teaching aqua aerobics, but it was actually really fun. It was a smaller class and everyone paid attention. Instead of the usual structure I follow, I switched it up a bit and class flew by! Next thing I knew, I was in the locker room changing and women were coming up telling me how they love that I'm always changing things and challenging them. It was very encouraging.

I went out to see my next client then taught cycle. Thursday's cycle class is my favorite! They are always ready to be pushed and challenged to the limits! Some of my morning usuals and a Monday participant came to the class because they wanted to take more of my classes. My class was filled. The Monday evening woman said, "I am so sore from standing on Monday! Please don't make us do that again!" I said I would make it easy since I have my event this weekend, but Barry looked over and said, "Easy?! Excuse me, what's your name again?" He's right... I don't have an easy button... So I just made it aggressive.  It was one of the best classes I've taught. At the end, I made everyone who hadn't finished their water do ten push-up holds. And they LOVED it!

Before running to my next job, I had an hour, so I swam. I gave up 45 minutes into it though because my shoulder was hurting. "If you listen to your body whisper, you'll never have to hear it scream." -Author Unknown. Me stopping when I'm hurt? I know... that doesn't happen. But I knew I needed to back off or else I wouldn't be able to swim for a couple of weeks. I can barely lift my arm at the moment.

From the pool, I drove out to the track to meet Dani and Richard. We did a 5-mile easy run then barefoot hill sprints with easy recoveries for an hour. After pushing them, I met up with Sophia and did a quick, light 25-minute run. Afterwards, I grabbed a smoothie and met up with Jameisha for the first Tri Club meeting of the year. It was great to hear the athlete's stories of Ironman successes and how much hiring a coach helped them. I'm tempted to hire a coach for my ultra-marathon and Ironman if I do them.

Perfect evening for an easy run.

After the meeting, I drove out to Evan's and saw his new apartment. Dang, that boy is clean! His apartment is so stylish. It looks like a page out of an interior designing catalog. He makes me so jealous! I wish I could be neat and tidy and clever like him. Evan is just the coolest guy. I am so grateful for his friendship. His mom was in one of my fitness classes and I fell in love with her immediately. As soon as I met her, I wanted to be like her when I grew up. Then I started training her daughter for soccer and fell in love with her. There was this adorable boy who I used to check into the gym when I worked front desk. When I found out it was Judy's son, I wasn't surprised. Of course the cutest boy I had ever seen is the son of the sweetest woman I have ever met. So we became fast friends and I adore that family. I would like to believe I'm actually a part of their family. I mean, I spent Thanksgiving with them. I'm pretty much the adopted daughter, right? And I'm meeting with Judy today for a lovely walk. Can't wait!

This morning, I had Drea's strength class. It was hard to get out of bed this morning, so I was a little late, but it still kicked my butt. I decided since I was so far north, I might as well go walk on the bluffs and spend some time with God. When I got back on the freeway to go to work though, I got stuck in traffic. Ugh. But class was great and I got to hang out with Sarah and life is so good. I am so tired and my body is hurting, but I could not be more excited for this weekend with Sophia and Weston! Let's go dominate, kids!

He Has Some... Synonym for Guts

Remember that episode of Friends where Pheobe Buffet is dating the athletic guy that wears really short shorts and all of her friends are aftraid to tell her that his junk is sticking out? Well, yesterday, I worked with that same man... but 50 years older. If you do the math, that makes him 80-years-of-age plus. This man, his lover and myself were working with weight machines. I had him sit down on the rotary torso... harmless, right? Wrong. He started twisting and as he turned... well, I didn't need to see what I saw. Aw man. To be honest, I don't think he cared that he was putting it all on display.

How can I apply this to my training? To be honest, I really can't, so I'm going to pretend that there was a reason I told you that story. Just like the old man, we need to be willing to put our stuff on display. No, no, no... not in a perverted way. I mean our talents. If we've been blessed with strong quads, we need to build those in cycling and running. If we have slim bodies, we need to keep them nourished and strong so we can speed past all the other athletes. Do you get my drift? An unknown individual once said, "We swim because we are too sexy for a sport that requires clothes". He gets it! ...Sort of. Eh, I'm just rambling to ramble.

On another note, I have been very proud of myself lately. After a week off from teaching my cycle classes, I came back last Monday and Claire exclaimed, "Yay! Please say you're back for good!" This woman was the last person I thought would ever say that to me. When I started teaching, I honestly thought she hated me, but she loves my teaching style now and that makes me ecstatic! Today, people commented that their quads were sore from standing throughout all of Monday's class. Mark, a sensational cyclist, complained that he could barely get out of his chair yesterday. Awesome!! Becky told me that Katee Grace came up to her yesterday and didn't even use my name; all she said was, "She made us stand the entire class!" And Becky knew EXACTLY who she was! I'm so proud of myself for my development!

Weston claims this is what he'll be wearing on Sunday. After my story, I pray he reconsiders...

Bad News

Warning: Mom, Dad, Rich, Greg and anyone else who cares about my knee problems, stop reading here.
Everyone else, welcome to my world of pain. (Insert evil laugh)

Bad, bad, bad news. I went on a run in the rain this morning. I have 5 days until my half marathon, so I thought I could run an hour easy run, maybe get 6 miles in. I started at the track... to boring and wet (it was raining). I got on the treadmill... that was a mistake. My knee! Shoot! "Maybe I will run outside and get wet," I thought. Outside I went. I wanted to get some hill work in. Oooo... bad idea! "I can't run. My knee is driving me insane. I'll walk a little." Walk. Run. Walk. Run. Jog. Walk. Walk. Walk. Run? Walk. Yikes. I hobbled back to work and got ready to meet with my first client. I iced my knee while I waited. Hmm... What to do? One year ago, I was in this same predicament: Do I compete in the race or rest? Last year it was due to a nasty flu bug, but this year it's an injury. I think the San Dieguito Half Marathon is scared of me...

Here is the plan... I will rest for the remainder of this week. So far I have obeyed my body. I had lunch with my parents then began a new painting instead of swimming before work. We will see what tomorrow holds. I will teach circuit tonight, but I will go easy. Tomorrow, cycle will not hold any work in power zone 5. It may be an aerobic or muscular endurance day.

I will stretch, I will strengthen, I will foam roll. And Sunday? On Sunday, I will go. I will see. And I will conquer. Get ready, San Dieguito. My knee won't hold me down for too long.

Okay, Mom, Dad, Rich and Greg... you can read from this point on. Don't look up!

Ashlee. YAY!

5:15 AM, Thursday, February 2nd.
I rolled out of bed and threw on as many warm layers as possible. North Face running tights. Check. Sports bra. Check. Lulu tank top. Check. Adidas long sleeve top. Check. Lulu zip-up. Check. Neptunic sweatshirt. Check. Knit scarf from Eva. Check. KrochetKids beanie. Check. Brooks PureCadence. Check. Lots and lots of layers. Lots and lots of me looking very unappealing. My Pillsbury Dough Boy self rolled up to the pool at 6AM and clocked in. Time to train my little triathlete Dani. I gave her the set and watched her form as I chitchatted with Austin, who was lifeguarding. We talked all about personal training and teaching classes and working with people of different fitness abilities. It was fabulous.

After training, I drove to Coffee Bean and grabbed a soy vanilla latte. I am a coffee addict. I've taken after my mother. This is a bad thing, a very bad thing... I NEED my coffee to get through the day.

So I got my coffee and headed to the next job location. There I sat for an hour before my first client of the day. It was a fabulous day! I worked with clients and taught aqua aerobics and cycle class. After my final client, I jetted off to my next job! I taught three more classes then it was time for a break! I ran home (literally) and grabbed my swimsuit. When I got to the pool, Jameisha was already in the water! She saw me and waved and I knew then and there I had to commit to this endurance set. I hopped in the water and we began. 1x200, 2x175, 3x150, 4x125, 5x100, 6x75. We were supposed to finish off with 7x50 and 8x25, but it was getting late and I needed to clean before my parents arrived the next day. I felt great about the swim. It was hard, but I did it. It was helpful to have Jameisha sharing my lane. We swim a similar pace, which keeps us accountable to one another.

Friday morning, I went to the running strength class. So great! After, I rushed to work for our Friday challenge then rushed to teach aerobics and balance to my older active adults. It was the end of my crazy week, so I went to Lulu to celebrate.

You are probably looking at the photo above wondering if I tried on everything in the store... Yes, pretty much... they gave me the "special" room... This was just one wall. My chalkboard read: "Ashlee. YAY!" Yup, they knew I was here to spend some money. I left the store with one new pair of pants, five new tops and two new sports bras. Hey, I can write it off on my taxes, right? Wahoo!

After shopping, I went on a quick 5-mile run, which gave me just enough time to throw clean clothes on and rush to work for the second half of our Friday challenge. After classes, my friend picked me up and we went to see "Unbreakable", a movie about the Western States 100. It was so inspiring! If you ever have the opportunity to watch it, please do. Here is one reason to watch it: My new goal is to compete in the Western States 100 by 2015. I have to do a 50- or 100-mile qualifying run, but then I'm in! Get stoked!

Saturday's classes went well. My Pilates class had only 13 people, which was a huge difference from the typical 18-19, but it was nice because we had more room. From class, I embarked on my 2-hour bike ride. I did some hill work, but I felt totally out of control on my bike. Even grabbing water felt awkward and uncomfortable... not a good sign. The day was perfect though. The ocean was amazing. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to ride. I bricked the ride with a 15-minute run to grab chocolate milk from the store.

My parents arrived after my ride and we went straight to the beach for a sunset walk. It was gorgeous, but cold.

Mom came to my cycle class on Sunday and she did wonderfully! I was very proud of her! After work, we had lunch then went out to the butterfly reserve and met up with Sophia. Sophia and I immediately started our ten-mile run. It was the most beautiful day in the most beautiful area and I was so excited to be running! I'm feeling confident about Sunday's race. I know this run is just for training, not competition, so I'm not going to run to win; I just want to go out and have a good time!

 This morning, I made my Cycle 60 class as well as my Power Cycle class spend the entire hour out of the saddle. This was all inspired by Mr. Rich Hummel, who I aspire to be like one day! It was a hard class, working on anaerobic endurance in zone 5. Both of my classes loved it! I also did a recreational swim, but I never got to my weights.

Today, Mom spoiled me. I got some new pants and I am so tempted to wear them on Sunday! No one will be able to take their eyes off of me... which puts a lot of pressure on my run, but they are so perfect for Valentines! This weekend is going to be awesome! I cannot wait to run another half with my dear friend Weston and to pace Sophia on her first event! San Diego, here we come!!

New pants!

Yay for running buddies!

Hurts So Good

Have you ever had one of those days where you want to crawl up into a little ball behind your couch and just rock back and forth? Last Thursday, my boss asked me to work his shifts because his wife was expecting. After working from 6AM-3:30PM straight, I rushed over to my other job and worked from 4:00PM-7:00PM then rushed to the next location for my tri club's swim from 7:45-8:45PM. I was stressed to the max. On top of that, I was supposed to swim test that day. By the time I got into the pool, the lifeguard was putting things away. I looked around and caught his attention.

"Hey, Chuck," I hollered. "What time does the pool close?"

"In one minute," came his response.

...Awesome. So I hopped out of the pool, threw on my sweatshirt and no pants and ran out to my car to try to make it to the other gym before they closed. Alas, by the time I got there, I realized that if the test took me longer than 20 minutes, I would be kicked out of the pool and would not get to finish my test. What would be the point? So I drove the long way home, totally filled with guilt and disappointment. I had only cycled and I was bummed that I didn't get to test. My meals had been rushed and not healthy in the slightest, a dog had followed me to work (adding onto the stress of the day), I was still dealing with some disappointing news I had found out during the weekend and everything during the day felt rushed. But I made it through the 24 hours.

You are probably wondering about this little dog that followed me. Mr. Cojax (that's his name) is the dog that lives two houses down from me. He started following me as I rushed to my job, but I thought he would turn around at some point. I got to the end of the street and he was still at my heels.

"Puppy, you need to go home now. I have to go. I'm sorry." He seemed to understand. He turned and walked back up the road. I crossed the busy street, but as I walked through the parking lot at work, I heard the sound of little steps behind me. "What are you doing here?" I didn't want him getting hit by a car, so I let him come into the gym with me. I closed the door and he joined our class for Cycle Core. Fortunately, everyone loved him, but it was one more thing to figure out. He was at the gym for almost three hours before I finally got ahold of his owner. This big, burly man came to pick up the tiny dog.

"Hi, my name's Bronco." ... of course it is.

Let's skip to Friday. It started with Drea's running strength class. This week was a little better. I felt more like one of the big kids, plus I could see the others struggling, so I knew I was in good company. Drea is such an inspiration though. She's cute and has this perfect body and awesome hair, not to mention she's a phenomenal athlete. Maybe if I take enough of her classes, her awesomeness will rub off on me!

Nash and I met to work on my run. He kicked my big derriere. Dang! I have never had formal run training, so it was nice to have someone critique me. He kept yelling, "Get those hips forward!" "You're too strong! Slow down!" By the end of the 45:00 run, my quads were killing me; fortunately, the high school gym class came out and kicked us off of the track. Thank goodness! I jogged home and got ready to bike.

My bike test was scheduled for Friday. I did it in the afternoon and I pushed hard, but I'm not sure how different it was from my last test, I still need to check. I know I didn't do as well as my last one though. Grrrrr... My quads were still achey from the run, but I grunted through it (literally- if Serena and Venus can grunt, so can I!) and worked hard for an hour.

That evening, I did not feel awake or energized enough to do my swim test, so I went out to sushi and a movie. I know, right? I relaxed! I actually sat still and watched an entire movie! When I saw the preview for Man On A Ledge, I was anxious to see it. I highly recommend it!

Skip to Saturday...

I worked all morning until 2:30 in the afternoon. Despite the fact that it was a gorgeous day, I went to the indoor pool and did my swim test. Just like the bike, I don't remember if I improved or not; however, I felt great! Last time I tested, I was exhausted and didn't know if I would be able to finish. This time I felt energized the entire 1,000 yards! I finished in 21:17.0.

Two hours later, Jameisha met me at the track. She ran by my side for my run test. We may have been joking when we said it "hurt so good", but it totally did. I love the pain. I feel sexiest when I'm drenched in sweat; I realized that last Thursday when I saw my work crush right after teaching a brutal cycle class. Most girls would have been mortified to have their crush see them drenched in stinky wetness with hair matted to the forehead, but I had a huge smile plastered to my face. I think there must be something wrong with me. I need to marry a man with no sense of smell.

On Sunday, Dani told me about a cycle race. I've never done strictly cycle racing, so we decided to give it a try. It was a 30-minute time trial where you lapped around a .75 mile track to see how many laps you could get. We went out to the track after I got off of work and watched the events taking place. I don't usually get nervous before events, but I was starting to wonder what I had gotten myself into. There were women on their trainers with their coaches urging them to push harder just for the warm-up. I looked at one such woman and whispered to Dani, "She had better not be in our heat."

We signed up for the Cat 4 and walked back to the car. After getting our things together, we realized we only had 5 minutes left to warm-up. We rushed to the starting line. There were about 20 women, all clad in their sponsored jerseys, ready to go. Guess who was with them? That's right... the crazy cyclist I had told Dani we needed to avoid.

The timer was counting down. One minute until take off. Dani looked at me nervously. "Are we in the right Cat," she asked. I had no idea. Before we had time to ask, they pulled Dani to the side and made her take off her aerobars. As she got back in the line up, the timer clicked, "3, 2, 1" and off we went... or should I say, off they went. Oh my word! I pushed. I pulled. My legs worked hard. I controlled my breathing.

"Ashlee," I told myself. "Pace yourself. Don't go all out if you can't maintain it for thirty minutes." I kept it steady, but didn't push more than I thought I could maintain. I got lapped, but managed to come in third to last. Ouch. The next day, I saw my friend Matt who is a cyclist. He had been at the event. "You realize you were racing with the pro group, right?" Whoops. Turns out Cat 3 and 4 (our group) are the more advanced riders. Well, it was a good experience! And I didn't get last!

Dani and I decided to continue our ride from there. We rode an extra hour then looped back to the car. I drove her back to her car and made my way to church.

My boss needs to spend time with the new baby, so I took Monday morning off of my other jobs to help him out. I love being there! After classes, Rebecca and I had a great time at Target, then I trained Richard at the beach. From there, I went straight to my cycle class. I'm pretty certain my Monday night cycle class hates me. None of them laugh at my jokes and every time I open my mouth, they give me a death glare. Why do you all come back? Don't come if you're not going to enjoy yourself!! I do not get it!! But Josh, Summer, Jackie and Richard took my class and it always helps to have supportive friends to smile encouragingly at you when you are positive the rest of the world thinks you suck.

Yesterday, I worked for my boss again all morning then did a 6-mile run around town. I worked on some hills and stayed at 1:30 below my race pace because Nash demanded I do so. I finished in 59:08, including warm-up and cool down. Then I swam for 45-minutes and practiced speed and flip turns. Yay flip turns!

What goes around comes around, just like a flip turn.  ~Author Unknown

That night I worked for my boss some more then went to dinner at my pastor's house. His wife had made a delicious meal for Ben and myself. It was just the four of us and it was wonderful. I loved getting to know them better. They have hiked the same area of Switzerland that I hiked three years ago! We both have Subaru's! Reed (my pastor) kept joking about the fact that Subaru drivers love their Subaru's and can only talk about Subaru's. Totally true. I also found out that Reed surfs and cycles! And his wife Lisa swims at the same time and place I normally do! I wonder if we've ever shared a lane! I am so blessed and so excited to be getting to know them better! Ben is great, too. He is from North Carolina and loves hiking, shooting guns and kayaking! Pretty sure I just met the male version of me! I plan to be friends with him for a very long time, especially since it turns out he lives with one of my best friends from college!

Today is my busy day. I have been teaching since 5:45 AM. I did get a break to bike to Katie's house for a quick bite then do a speed run. 2-mile warm-up, 4x800s with 1:00 recoveries, 800 cool down, 4x100 sprints, 1-mile cool down. I got to work and my legs were barely strong enough to keep me standing. Amazing, because I definitely got enough protein! You know that moment when the bug is in your throat and you're not sure if it's worth fighting it any longer or just swallowing? Yeah... that happened three times today. I almost vomited on the first bug, so I took the other two down without much of a fight.

Circuit class was awesome! I had six new people! It was so fun! Pure Awesomeness is tonight then I'm going to crash! I can't wait to go home to my Saucony Scofield!