Livin' it up tropical style

During my long bike today, I found myself thinking about how lucky I am to live in South Florida. When my husband and I moved here in August of 2001 (after living in NJ all of our lives), it was really a leap of faith. While things turned out well for us in the job/housing department, the Florida weather left much to be desired... at least in my opinion. For many years, I could not get used to the fact that we don't have any seasons. It basically goes from warm and slightly sticky to very hot and very sticky to a quick blast of 60 degree days (maybe like 5 in total) and right back to hot and sticky. There is no change in that game.

I spent the first 6 years of my life as a Floridian very disgruntled that I was no longer able to experience fall, winter and spring. Sure, I loved the palm trees, the blue skies, being close to the water. Florida is very pretty. However, I felt like I just couldn't 'connect' with my new state. All of that changed one day in late 2007 when I slipped on my dry rotted old Saucony shoes and went for my first 30 second run.

In 2008 I would find myself falling in love with Florida. The weather remained the same as always... hot and sticky, but the year-round blue skies made for prime tri training (and more importantly, served as motivation to get outside). I quickly learned to appreciate this as I read the blogs of my northern friends who were glued to treadmills and trainers. I'm sure that my Hawaii & SoCal blogfriends can totally relate.

Although my new love for Florida began with triathlon, it hasn't stopped there. From the first day that we moved here, I found myself very appreciative of the Florida flora and fauna. Scott & I have practically adopted the Sandhill crane as our own. We call them our "bird children." Now that I feel more a part of my new home, I'm learning to appreciate many other aspects that makes this state what it is (and I'm not talking about Disney World, here).

Back to today's ride -- gotta love long rides for providing ample 'reflection' time. There I am, cruising along a smooth bike lane in North Naples, lush landscaping all around, blue skies overhead, easterly winds challenging my effort... I think to myself, "this really is a slice of paradise." I can't wait to finish the ride, finish my run... and get home so that I can put on a bikini and soak up some warm rays for the rest of the afternoon.

Long gone are my colorful winter coats, my scarves and hats, the fall/winter 'layering' pieces that I loved so much. Long gone is my windshield scraper and the bags of rock salt. In their place is a plethora of sandals, tank tops, sunglasses and sunscreen. The uptight Northern attitude has been replaced with a more relaxed, laid back version of me. Aside from family members who still live in NJ, the only thing that I really miss anymore is fall apple cider. I have let New Jersey go...

I suppose it's official... I've become a Florida girl!

Training Updates

Oh, my aching abs! I feel like Sondra and Jason put me on the rack and stretched me apart from the inside out! I can't even cough up my post-nasal drip (possibly TMI) without 'bracing' my midsection! Thanks for the love guys!

Otherwise, all is great! I've gotten in a lot more outdoor riding this week (yes, I'm slowly letting my grip on my spin classes go) and I have really been trying to concentrate on maintaining good form within each discipline.

Escape from Ft. DeSoto is 3 weeks away. So close, yet so far. I'm getting very excited. By the time the race gets here, it will have been 5 months since I competed in a tri and I am so stoked about officially beginning the 2009 season!!!

USAT Rankings

ETA: I totally forgot to include this. Being a total tri newbie and all, I recently learned that there are USAT rankings that come out at the end of each year. Basically you have to be a USAT member and had to have participated in at least three USAT sectioned tris during the year to be ranked. I participated in four and had decent 'newbie' showings at each and even though I try not to compare my efforts to others, I was anxious to find out how I stacked up against other 30-34 females in the Florida region (I guess Florida has such a plethora of triathletes that we get our own region).

After a bit of back and forth with the folks at USAT (my ranking wasn't showing up b/c of a system glitch), it turns out that I did well for my first year! I was ranked 100 out of 457, placing me in the top 21.9% for the Florida region. Sounds good to me... I'll totally take that! Now... watch out 2009!!!!