When Breathing Becomes a Luxury

You realize life has become quite full when just stopping to catch your breath for a second is a luxury - along with eating and getting an adequate amount of sleep - thus the long absence from posting on my blog. But alas, for those who are interested, here is the old and new news of my life.

T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G.

As a last moment decision I surprised my Grandma and Grandpa for Thanksgiving. I was able to take an extra few days off of work and drive down to their house in California to spend time with them. It was enjoyable to be with my extended family on Thanksgiving, but the real highlights of my trip were the one-on-one times I was able to spend with my Grandma and Grandpa. I am the kind of person who loves adventure and being active, but I found that doing just the little things, like sitting next to my Grandma in her recliner chair she is almost confined to or taking a ride in the car with my Grandpa were the most meaningful and memorable. I was even lucky enough to get some quality time with my Uncle. We share the common interest of road biking/spinning, so he took me on a killer ride Thanksgiving morning. My uncle was great company and continued to offer encouragement to me as I struggled to keep pedaling. It's experiences like these with those I love that leave the greatest impact.

C.H.O.P.P.E.D. W.I.T.H. S.T.Y.L.E.

With my job I spend 96% of my time in my truck driving around town with my clients. My truck is my office, break room, conference room, and everything else that comes with work (minus the bathroom except for a couple clients who think it is and have used it as such, but I won't go there). Long story short, I am always in my truck. Having long hair became a problem because each time I put on or took off my seatbelt (which was a lot) my hair would get caught in the seatbelt thingamajig above the left shoulder. Ouch. To solve the problem I either had to quite putting on my seatbelt altogether or chop my hair off. Hmmm...chance my life or cut off something that would grow back. Not a hard decision. It worked in my favor that I was already tired of my long, straight hair. My only dilemma was figuring out which style I wanted my hair to be transformed to. After a lot of researching which types of hair styles looked good on my face shape I made my decision…

(Please ignore the cheesy grin on my face as this is the best picture that depicts my haircut)

I remember distinctly the feeling of no-return I felt when the cosmetologist cut my bangs. After leaving the salon I didn’t feel completely satisfied with the cut. The cosmetologist threw in a few twists of her own that I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of. So I went back. I left the second time in love with my hair.

C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S.

Christmas was a blessing! I again was able to travel down to my Grandma and Grandpa's for this holiday as well as everybody else in my family. The whole extended family on my mom's side was together for Christmas, minus the two missionaries serving in Mexico and Utah. It was a miracle that I was able to see unfold for the family to come together as well as witness miracle after miracle as we were together. It was a joyous reunion. Everybody came away with a few presents, but the greatest gift of all was being together.

K.I.C.K.I.N.G. M.Y. O.W.N. B.U.T.T.

After participating in a triathlon this past summer I fell in love with this style of competition. I caught wind of an extreme adventure race held in Moab, UT and decided that that would be my next race. It is a total of 50 miles and includes: mountain biking, running, rappelling, mountain biking, and kayaking. Check it out:

My efforts to find a teammate have been fruitless and so I will be participating in this race solo. Thus far I have done two things of many in preparation for this race - first, I got a personal trainer and second, I got a new (used) mountain bike. The tougher twin of my Jamis Road Bike.

My trainer created a Monday thru Saturday strength training/conditioning, endurance, and cardio workout schedule for me to stick to along with his killer one-hour session every Friday with me in order to be ready for this race. I still have yet to not get my butt kicked by the gym on a daily basis. So, many hours of my life after work are spent in grueling workout regimes at the gym. But all of this butt kicking has finally started to pay off.

On the first day of training with my personal trainer I had a body composition test done, which measures the body fat and lean muscle on my body. I received another body composition test six weeks after I starting training to see the progress I was making. I was quite frustrated with myself up until my second body comp test because I was not losing the weight as expected. Here are the comparisons between the two body comp tests:

Jan. 8th Feb. 12th

Body Fat %: 24.6% 21.6%

Body Fat Weight: 35.9lbs. 31.2lbs

Lean Weight: 110lbs. 113.4lbs.

Tricep Skinfold: 16.4mm 14.5mm

Hip Skinfold: 16.2mm 14.3mm

Thigh Skinfold: 33.6mm 28.0mm

Basically I dropped 3% body fat and gained 3.4lbs of muscle with slimming in my arms, waist, and legs. Since this last body comp test I have been tracking my calories and eating an approximate 1400/day calorie diet in order to get to the body fat percentage goal of 15% before my race next month and I have already shed several pounds from my healthy eating and workout regime. It is an exciting feeling to see the difference in my body and the progress in my workouts.

With the excitement of this adventure race approaching I started to think about what I would do after the race. I want to keep to the workout regime that my trainer has me on in order to continue to maintain and hopefully improve my fitness level, but what else? I discovered what awaits me after the adventure race. Four triathlons (located in Pocatello, Rigby, Idaho Falls, and Rexburg) and as a finale to the year, the LOTOJA road cycling race in September - a single-day, 206 mile race from LOgan, utah TO JAckson Hole, wyoming.

See what it is all about!

Always looking for racing buddies or support crew volunteers. Let the fun begin!

S.E.A.R.C.H. & R.E.S.C.U.E.

My job isn't what I want to spend my entire life doing. The right concept is there - helping people - but not the right focus I really want - mental health. The itch to move forward with my career dreams has become a lot stronger, but isn't something that I can entirely pursue right now. So I decided to pursue it as much as I can, even if it is just a little at a time. I am volunteering for Bonneville County Search & Rescue (BCSAR). I feel blessed to have teamed up with BCSAR because they are training to get recertified with Mountain Rescue Associate, which is something that only comes around once every five years. BCSAR will give me added experience and training to my certifications I currently have and will give opportunity to get a taste of a part of what I eventually want to do with my life - helping people in life-threatening situations. I am enjoying being apart of BCSAR and feel it is a step closer to my future.

Back to the Drawing Table

When push comes to shove and pennies start to get pinched it's back to the drawing table for me. That is...the plasma drawing table. Call it what you want; selling myself, prostitution of the blood, or, my personal favorite, saving a life. Today was my first day back donating after exactly a year of absence...and a bad experience. But sometimes a lack creates a drive to do things despite the costs to receive the benefit. There is purpose to this effort...


A year ago I bought a plane ticket to fly to Texas to spend Christmas with my family, but being asked to work the Christmas holiday I credited my ticket to use within the year. But to my dismay I discovered in order to use my credited ticket I needed to complete a trip by November 15th, pay $150 to redeem the ticket, plus the difference in the cost of the new ticket. WHAT!?! That throws going to Texas for Christmas OR Thanksgiving this year right out the window. So...doing a complete circle, we're back at the drawing table.

Guilty Until Proven Worthy of Mercy

Me: Hello Officer.
Officer: Hello. I pulled you over for speeding. Do you know how fast you were going?
Me: When I saw you and looked down at my speedometer it said 31mph.
Officer: I clocked you going at 35.
Me: I think my speedometer is off (it really is - I was previously ticketed for going 75 when my cruise control was set at 72).
Officer: Well, even if it was off 3 or 4mph you'd still be 6mph over the speed limit. I would feel comfortable pulling someone over for going 5mph over the speed limit on this street.
Me: Yes sir.
Officer: Do you have your license, insurance, and registration? ... (lingering with my information, I was hoping/praying he was just going to look at it and give me a warning). Thank you, I'll be right back.

........

Officer: Even though I clocked you going 10 over the speed limit at 35mph I only wrote you a ticket for going 34mph, which is a $75.00 ticket. (Handed me the ticket)
Me: Thank you officer.
Officer: Driving down this road at this time the sun is in your eyes and there are kids living along here. You need to slow it down a bit. Even going 25mph could cause serious injury.
Me: Yes sir.
Officer: You will need to pay this ticket by October 25th, so I am giving you a month to pay it. Do you know where the Court House is?
Me: Yep! I spent 4 hours there with one of my clients today.
Officer: Why?
Me: We were getting a restraining order filed against her boyfriend who beat her up over the weekend.
Officer: What kind of work do you do?
Me: I'm a PSR worker.
Officer: Hand me that ticket.

I grabbed the ticket from my console and handed it back to him not knowing what he was going to do with it. He held it like he was about to rip it in half, but then just folded it up a few times.

Officer: I'll take care of this for you.
Me (shocked): THANK YOU OFFICER!! THANK YOU!!
Officer: Our jobs aren't much different, except that you have to spend a lot more time with those people. You have yourself a better evening!
Me: THANK YOU!!

Having received only two tickets in my life (two too many) this is the first one that I have "gotten out of" and it was AFTER the officer had already written and given me the ticket! I could not believe it! I feel SO relieved and very blessed!

Now, to celebrate.....

Self Proclaimed Diagnosis

Patient: Rachel (aka: Iron Maiden)
Age: 26
Sex: Female
Height: 5'8''
Weight: Classified
Symptom Classification: EXTREME
Symptoms: build up of excessive energy, heightened anxiety, fidgety, day dreaming of intense outdoor activities, often squirmy, continual unsatisfied yearnings, dullness in day to day ritual activities, ticking bomb, nightmares of being in a straight jacket, falling asleep while working with clients at work, pacing, inadequate feeling of satisfaction in life, slight psychotic behavior due to extreme inexpressible cravings for adventure
Diagnoses: A.D.D. > ADVENTURE DEFICIT DISORDER

CODE RED :: CODE RED :: CODE RED :: CODE RED :: CODE RED :: CODE RED

Prescription: training by means of biking, rock climbing, swimming, weight lifting, snow boarding, running, various high-energy sports, healthy eating, sporadic activity, cross country skiing, long boarding, slack lining, canoeing, and hiking for the ADVENTURE XTREME SERIES and the STP
Follow Up: reassess patient's A.D.D. in 6 to 9 months on March 27, 2010 and July 18, 2010

Disclaimer: Although the author of this post is a certified EMT and is unable to make medical diagnoses by law, she is making this self diagnoses through self-exploration. In no way is the author of this post attempting in any form to belittle, make fun of, or disrespect the true and serious implications of A.D.D.

Unforgotten Challenge

So in the beginning of the year I gave myself a challenge to learn one new thing each month and post about it. The last challenge I posted was way back in May. I started to feel a little disappointed that I had let myself slip a bit until I began looking back over my posts. I have been able to stay true to this challenge, I just haven't specifically defined those posts as the fulfillment of the month's challenge. So in review, here are my successful monthly challenges since May:

June: I learned through experience for the first time how to have a yard sale.

July: I learned all I could about triathlons, how to train for them, and then applied the knowledge. I successfully completed the triathlon in August, but July was my month of learning.

August: I learned by both failed and successful attempts how to make homemade ice cream. I have an almost no-brainer ice cream maker machine, but have had a few things not turn out as expected. The last attempt, vanilla 'n peaches didn't set up right at the end like it should have but turned out absolutely delicious. The next attempt, vanilla 'n blackberries will be an excuse to try to get it right. Post to come.

Rush Triathlon

I know you guys are just dying to hear about my experience participating in my first triathlon. Well, let me be the first to tell you that it was nothing less than A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! Every leg of the race was a challenge in different ways and on different levels. The experience as a whole was exhausting yet worth the adrenaline pumping through your veins and the on-top-of-the-world feeling when you cross the finish line. Did I already mention it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G? Just wanted to clarify. Ok, enough with the amazingness, let's get to the race.

The morning started out early - too early - 5:30am early. Prior to my alarm going off I had a bad dream that I had missed the triathlon completely. I awoke and frantically looked for my phone to see the time. 5:14am. Phew. I didn't sleep for the remaining minutes before my alarm went off in fear of missing the triathlon. Making it to Rainbow Lake shortly after 6:00am I began setting up my transition area between the swimming and biking events. I planned it so I would not have to do any kind of set up at the second transition area, but just rack my bike and go.

The .5 mile swimming portion of the triathlon was first and began at 8:10am. I reached my goal during training to swim a half mile (32 laps in a pool) non-stop. I was confident that I could swim the distance but nervous about my performance in open water (since I had not trained in it at all), as well as swimming with a LOT of other people in very close proximity.

I am making the final preparations before the swimming portion of the triathlon was to begin. Rainbow Lake is in the background. To see the course I swam, click here.

This is my "What in the world did I get myself into?" look.

Before events like this I tend to always feel nauseous right before the event is about begin due to an increased level of anxiety. My face clearly expresses this.

And I'm off!

The water was actually really warm; warmer than the air temperature. After getting in the lake I realized that I could have ditched the wetsuit altogether. And I wish I had. I had not trained in my wetsuit and it threw me for a loop when I began swimming. Because my wetsuit is quite thick (one of the thickest ones you can find) the effort to swim in it increased dramatically resulting in a quicker loss of energy. The resistance I felt with each stroke was a struggle and it threw off my entire rhythm of swimming that I had trained my body in. I had a fantastic start, but it didn't last for long.

It took me quite some time, but I finally got into a good rhythm of swimming. I quickly found out that this rhythm was often throw off by the collisions of swimmers. Several times I had to completely stop swimming to allow another swimmer who had just plowed into me to pass in order for me to keep swimming. The low visibility in the murky water didn't help the situation. I eventually learned to keep swimming no matter who hit me or who I hit. Just keep swimming.

After getting out of the lake I had to run down a pathway (between the two orange fencing in the background) into the transition staging area and find my bike to begin the second leg of the triathlon, a 14.22 mile bike ride. To see a map of the biking course, click here. As I ran to where my bike was located I pulled my wetsuit off halfway, buying me time during my transition. In the picture you can see me coming up to my bike with my wetsuit at my waist.

I struggled taking off my wetsuit because it caught on the timer I was wearing around my ankle. This was another thing I had not anticipated but with slight frustration managed to finally pull it completely off. Next I just had to slip on my sock, shoes, slide on my sunglasses, and snap my helmet on.

And I'm off!

I had biked the route for this leg of the triathlon before and found it rather difficult, partly because I was sick at the time. I was a little nervous about struggling up the steep hills like I had previous, but knew the route like the back of my hand from biking it so many times while attending college. Surprisingly, the hardest sections of the biking route did not challenge me as greatly as they had before, but were in fact just something to get through without significant grueling effort. I attribute this greatly to the 21 mile bike ride I had done several days previous to the triathlon where 90% of it was uphill.

Another factor that had come to mind late the night prior to the race was the temperature during the biking portion. The crisp morning air would still be lingering. The nip in the air was magnified by a breeze and the wet clothes I was wearing. I had goose bumps the entire biking portion of the triathlon. In fact, my whole body was completely numb by the time I finished those 14.22 miles that when I got off my bike I could barely move, nonetheless run my bike to the transition staging area to put in on the rack.

It took my body about a mile of running for my almost frozen blood to thaw out, warm up, and return to it's normal flow rate. The 3.07 running portion of the triathlon was the most challenging for me because my body could barely move for the first mile and the beginning of the second mile was a steep dirt trail. The last mile was some downhill and three-quarters around a track. As you might be able to tell by the picture above (which was taken right before entering the track) that I was struggling to keep myself going. To see a map of the running course, click here.

But I finished strong!

My Final Times:

Swim: 00:26:23.015 / 7th place in my age division
T1: 00:02:58.667
Bike: 00:54:28.339 / 10th place in my age division
T2: 00:01:38.939
Run: 00:36:28.145 / 18th in my age division

Final Results: 02:01:57.1 / 8th place in my age division / 138 place of 411 participants overall

I couldn't believe the results when I saw them! I have never done this well in a competition before. I was pretty stoked! I still am.