The Friday Fresh LOOK!

*Disclaimer: This post contains an Amazon Associate Link. All opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.

Let’s catch up a bit. This time of year is hectic! School is ending in about a week for my kiddos and some changes are on the horizon. It seems as though we are scrambling from one end of the year event to the next. School field trips, concerts  and planning for summer has our heads spinning. It seems as though the entire month of May has been rainy and gray here which hopefully means that summer will bring lots of sun and warmth.

Swimming

In the midst of all of the busy I have been trying to keep on track with my training. I have a Half Ironman on the schedule for the end of June which has me feeling a little freaked. My motivation since Boston has been coming and going in waves. When I am on I am crushing it but then my mojo goes out the door and I end up feeling like I’d rather curl up with a good book and just take it easy. The weather is not helping one bit. The lakes and rivers are still as cold as ice here making open water swimming less than appealing but I’ve got to get on my game for the swim portion of the triathlon soon! Next week may force an outdoor swim as I just learned that they will be draining the pool where I swim for maintenance next week. Eeek! Perhaps I can do laps in our kiddie pool? I am also underprepared for the chill of the water and need to get on with ordering a wetsuit with sleeves ASAP!

Biking

I also need to become one with my bike out on the roads again. Time in the saddle will be key to a good ride on race day. I also have plans of getting an actual Triathlon Bike soon to up my game a bit. I am currently riding on my beloved “Sapphire,” a Specialized Roubaix men’s road bike that I adore. Due to my giraffe like frame and oddly broad wingspan I did not fit on a women’s road bike. This beauty of a steed has been with me since before I have kids but I need to add a new bike racing so I can be like the cool triathlon kids! Riding has actually been going well and I have been enjoying getting out on the road although I could do without all of this rain pelting down on me.

Everything actually got quite crazy this week on my Wednesday ride. As I headed out for my ride I ran into a family member who was out for a run with her dog. She waved for me to stop and alerted me that she had had some odd sightings of a fox in the area who seemed to be acting odd. I continued my ride and worked on my hard intervals. I had forgotten about the fox as I headed back home. With my driveway in sight I began hearing an odd noise coming from the woods up near my Mother-In-Laws house. At first I thought it must be one of her dogs or perhaps a loud raven screeching. As I slowed my bike however to give a better listen I heard the sounds of a screaming fox. If you have never heard it, the sound is quite frightening, like that of a screaming child or woman. Feeling a bit uneasy I started pedaling harder but as I picked up speed I caught sight of the fox as he popped out of the woods as I glanced over my shoulder. He was FOLLOWING ME! What the H#**! I pedaled as hard as I could raced up my driveway, hopped off my bike, ran inside and closed the porch door. I grabbed my phone to alert my Mother-In-Law who was just up the hill. That’s when I spotted him racing across the yard, by our swing set and right up to the porch door. I pulled the door closed harder as it hadn’t latched and locked it (hilarious in hindsight!). He stood there with his beady eyes looking at me, mouth open and yelling. I have to admit it was slightly terrifying. Had I been on foot I am not sure that I would have been able to get away quickly enough. I have never had such a crazy wild animal encounter before. Sadly this fox is probably sick with rabies. We notified Fish and Wildlife and are being very vigilant around our house. Hopefully we will never have anymore crazy wildlife encounters like this! Has anything like this ever happened to you?

Running

Thankfully my running continues to be a constant. Running is always the easy part of my training. Even if I cannot escape my house for a run when my husband is traveling I always have my treadmill waiting for a workout. I also always make sure to have a pair of running shoes in the back of my car in case a running opportunity pops up. This week my runs took me past our local farms including our organic egg farm, Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs, a local organic dairy and a pig farm and sheep farm. Being a girl who grow up in the Philly suburbs on the preppy Main Line I have to tell you that I absolutely love the fact that I now live somewhere where this is what I get to see when I run.

What I’m loving right now . . .

Skirt Sports Love and #REALWomenMove

In case you missed it, this week I wrote an article for Skirt Sports on their #RealWomenMove Blog. I have been a longtime Skirt Sports Fan and Ambassador. This week I wrote about a word that guides me in my athletic pursuits and also gave some tips. My word is FOCUSED. Please head on over and give it a a read!

Running is My Recess

My awesome friend and running blogger Nat from Nat Runs Far has started a new running movement called Running is My Recess. You can learn more about this movement on Womens Running this week: What is The Running is My Recess Campaign? and join in the fun over on the Running is My Recess website. Be sure to tag your adventures with the #runningismyrecess hashtag.

Book Love: ROAR

This book was recommended to me by one of our employees at Pete and Gerry’s who is also an ultrarunner when she is not working hard for us. This is a training guide specifically for female athletes! Yes! I cannot wait to give it a read!

Roar: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life by Stacy Sims

Music Love: The Cure–Lady Gaga

I have to admit that I don’t love all of Lady Gaga’s Music but The Cure is currently on heavy rotation on my iPod shuffle in the pool. What tunes are on your current playlist?

Puppy Love

If you have been reading my blog for awhile then you know that over the past two years we have had to say goodbye to our Black Lab Homer and most recently our Cairn Terrier Lucy. Our house has been empty and our hearts were broken by the losses of these two sweet dogs. However, in about a week we are going to add a new furry love to our family. We will be picking up our sweet baby boy a Mini Schnauzer/Shit-Zu mix or Shnauztu (LOL). He is black with a little white under his chin. The kids have decided that he will be named TeddyBear because these dogs are described as looking like mini-teddy bears. We can’t wait for this sweet boy to join our family and you can be sure that my instagram feed will be filled with pictures of this cute little love!

I’m linking up with Meranda, Lacey and Rachel for the Friday Five.

What’s happening in your world right now? What was your biggest success this week? what are your tips for staying focused during training?