2012 Year in Review and a Toast to New Beginnings in 2013

I realized I haven't posted anything in a while and the last thing I wanted to do was another downer post.  My last post was titled "Life is Short - Celebrate Every Moment" which was a little tribute to my friend Laurie that passed away very suddenly at a young age.  As most of you may know, my father in law has ALS and in June I did Mooseman Half-Ironman in New Hampshire for him.  You can read more on how the disease progressed when I posted on Thanksgiving.  On Christmas night, actually at 2am on the 26th, he passed away.  It has been quite a holiday.  I want to thank EVERYONE for your love and support  to Mike, his family, my family and myself through the holiday.  Carle was a wonderful man, a great father-in-law that told me I was the best daughter-in-law (even though he had one but claimed I would still be the best even if there were others).  He shared my love for math, chemistry, humor and reading so we always had much to talk about.  I had many bonding moments with my 2nd dad, as I called him, whether that be sneaking a cigarette on the back stoop and talking about my new job when I was 22 (I know I know not healthy but it was when I was young and stupid) to going to lunch when we both worked about 20 minutes from each other to chatting of the latest book we read to staying with me while I was in my early stage of snowboarding while he was skiing and everyone else was ahead to making his famous cheese dip while he oversaw when he could no longer use his hands.  It was a beautiful funeral and tribute and he would have been very happy.

Despite life's obstacles that were thrown along the way, there was some really good times... 

In racing, it was a great year for me, my training partners grew with Yasi and Team Triumph which I really feel helped push me to have a very PR year. 

In life, there was definitely lots of good moments with some new friends like Yasi and my new Brewtal family as well as Mike, family and all my wonderful friends that there is just not enough room to name them all.  They all are so different and special and are so amazing.

not to mention good brews....

and then obviously lots of good healthy food....

.....and to top it off we found out in early December that there will be another addition to our family and it's not another animal....yes, Mini FancyPants will be joining the LaCouture's come August 2013.  The most wonderful aspect in all this was that we were able to tell both our families that we were having a baby on Christmas Eve which meant that my mom was so happy (she's been impatiently waiting for a long time) and my father-in-law was able to be happy to hear the news before he passed away the next night.  Both of our families and our friends are ecstatic and it has really helped us through a tough time, especially when you see a heartbeat and a picture of an ACTUAL baby inside of you.  It was bittersweet.

In the meantime, I will keep to the purpose of the  Miss FancyPants blog of running, biking and LOTS of swimming and of course lots of healthy food.  Obviously my beer list will have to wait to August...haha but I may post vicariously through Mike, Brewtal Beer and Broken Goblet (more on that as well).  I don't want to bore you to death with my prego details so if you choose to read I am starting Mini FancyPants (like you didn't know that was coming).

Here's a toast to a good 2013!  To Life and Happiness!

Case of Off-Seasonitis, Halloween and a Race Report

Been ultra - lackadasical about my posting...and about training...and racing...so I diagnosed it!  Yes, I am about to make up a word, I checked it on Wikapedia...

(although I am wary that this word already has been posted somewhere in the blogosphere by the other crazy triathletes out there)

Off-Seasonitis which is from the term "off-season" plus the suffix -itis (which refers to the inflamation or an illness), this is to describe the decreased motivation toward training by triathletes who are nearing the end of their season....

After Atlantic City, I was just DONE, but I still had two more racesI signed up for and well, I can't let things go to waste....

So I'll start with the back-story - Pre-Sandy, since it also contains Halloween weekend footage and the Bridge Run...which was awesome...

I was a "little" tipsy from all the awesome pumpkin beer at the Brewtal Beer October Halloween meeting and went into that "whoa is me" stage of drunkeness, where I told everyone I didn't FEEL like running 10 miles the next day, I didn't FEEL like running the Bridge Run the next weekend and most of all I didn't FEEL like running 13.1 miles at the Trenton Half Marathon. WAAAAA!  Poor Lisa, had to listen to this for about 20 minutes.Yes this is all as I was dressed as an evil Alice in Wonderland

"Mad Alice" - looking a little crazy

This is my mother....who NEVER dresses up!

The boys as Bareforce One....

Video game character photo shoot

Anywho, Lisa said "why don't you just not run it?"  Go ahead, I did the same thing - "huh?" I replied. The conclusion was just do a short run the next day, since I got in 10 miles already the week before and I would just do both races slow, no expectations.

The next day I woke up a touch hungover and decided I was driving to the park running 3 miles and going home to get ready for the next Halloween festivity.  So, I called Christine who said just do 6 miles.  So I got out of the car and I ran 7 miles.  Felt better, plus I was getting a little concerned because I heard we were getting some rain during the week (i.e. Hurricane Sandy).  Then I got myself ready for the Beyond Dishonor at Champs - I changed my hair color for the costume....

Beyond Dishonor as Mortal Kombat - aweseome!

Dorothy...and Mad Alice

Yasi all cat woman like - and me with a knife...

The crew pre-metal party

and it was Yasi's first metal show...

Fast-forward to last Sunday...Bridge Run 10K which really is a lot of fun and that was my plan, use it as a training run for Trenton Half Marathon.


The first mile was like fighting through a mass of 1200 people...oh wait I did fight through that mess...I couldn't get a spot by the 9min mile pacer so I went to the back.  My first mile as you can see the time versus moving time was about 35 seconds slower. 

Practicing my Miss America wave for the paparazzi

My goal was a 9 min mile pace all the way through and I achieved that.  I wasn't looking a PRing since I do want to do ok at tomorrow's half marathon so I kept the HR level fairly consistent around 154.

I started with noone and got really bored around mile 5 (as I slowed down) probably admiring the flowers (just kidding this is Camden - most likely admiring the crack head complaining to a cop).  I finally saw Lisa up ahead and sprinted up (see the spike in HR) and was just so happy to run with someone even for the last 1/2 mile.

Me and my twin Christine!

Team Triumph!

Oh and to add to the crazy weather - we had a snowstorm - random and just to add more power outages to the people who just got their power back from Sandy.

Because of the snow I opted not to run at all this week, I did free-weight, spin class, trainer rides and some yoga...hopefully this will make for some ultra fresh legs...


Oh and in order to make myself excited for tomorrow...I not only picked out a cute outfit...I planned a Beer and Mimosa Breakfast Party after the race!

Rest of Summer Happenings...

It's been a while, a long while since I posted something....I just really felt like I didn't have much to post.  Which has been ridiculous because so much is going on...The rest of the summer has been going, I lost a lot of motivation with training.  I signed up for Atlantic City Tri International Distance just because...although I was happy to do a race with my bestie...

part of me was upset that I just couldn't find another half-ironman during a convenient date so I have been just blah from training.  I guess I just wasn't excited about it.  I couldn't quite find a plan so just kept chugging with swimming, biking and running following my normal schedule from half-ironman training.  Life has been crazy with Mike spending most of his time taking care of his dad, which just makes me love and miss the guy even more (I didn't know after 15 years that that was even possible).  He has been self-less and really dealing with a lot until they get nursing care.  For one day while I was there we were able to get him out of bed, it was a great day!

We were able to spend the time we have doing things we love (e.g. beer) so it's been lots of quality time when we can get it.

Trying lots of phenomenal beers

Great quality chilling times

Hanging with the boys before Nick left for Australis

Trying to sell the Brewtal growlers

On our way to a Brewtal meeting

Wedding for some friends

I have had some really good and fun times since my last post...

Running with my mama 

We also started the book club of the CENTURY - CGBC - Cool Girls Book Club - 

yup it's official

And...the 6th Annual Beerathlon occurred and it was awesome with costumes and lots of fun!  Plus I got to play Coach H for not one but TWO HGRC teams.

Left-overs of a party...

Mojitos after party...

Finally, it's a week before the race, and I still can't put a finger on why I am not excited about it, but it could be the fact that the day of the race I will be 37!!  What???  When did 37 happen? But in actuality it was probably training since November with no break.  BUT I put in the work, I know this will be a nice flat race (PR, maybe?).  So I am going to go into this race as a CELEBRATION, a celebration of all the hard work, the highs and lows of the summer, and turning 37.  Oh yeah, and in the spirit of over-achievement I have my first hockey game of the season the next day with my new stick!!!

Brewtal Beer Club - It's Not Just a Club...It's a Movement - PART 3 - THE BEER

If you missed the first two episodes...

Part 1 - The Club

Part 2 - The Food

And now what you have all been waiting for...MissFancyPants Fall Beer List.  It's getting a little late in the season, so you may want to bookmark this for next year.  I had some other recommendations but I don't want to overwhelm you or muddy the waters by being all over the place so I will do an addendum to my beer list in another post (just to keep you reading)....I don't know about you but I am always hunting for the perfect pumpkin beer (secretly I want someone to do a butternut squash one but haven't heard of it).

Last year, my two favorites were Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale and Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale - HOWEVER, I have some new favorites thanks to Mike (my husband, who was in charge of the October Brewtal Beer Tasting).

#1 - Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin

This beer was actually thanks to KEVIN whom we met at the Battleship NJ beer tasting.  He works for Shipyard.  This beer will KICK your ass, and I mean it.  It's 9% ABV and very drinkable, I didn't find it overly alcohol in flavor, it's dangerous...It is a little heavy on the spice area so if you don't like a heavy spice than it may not be your favorite.  I enjoy a bit more nutmeg so this was great.  Good pumpkin taste and sweet.

 #2 - Cigar City Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale

 

Holy crap this was hands down a beer that EVERYONE at the beer club enjoyed and rated highly.  I felt like I was drinking pumpkin pie.  There was something about this beer, the spice was not overly powering, the perfect amount of sweetness.

 #3 - Heavy Seas - The Greater Pumpkin 

One word - AWESOME - this was brewed in Bourbon barrels so it is quite different than the other pumpkin beers.  The bourbon, wood, and pumpkin was a nice balance.  Highly recommend.

#4 - The Bruery - Autumn Maple

 I have to say I was a little hesitant, I don't always dig The Breury's beer, but this was delicious.  It is brewed with yams so it was a nice change from the pumpkin tasting.  It had a nice mix of spice and also a hint of vanilla.  I could see this going well with some turkey breast and maybe some glazed root vegetables.  Don't know why, but I think I will try serving that next year or if I find it in time for this Thanksgiving.

 #5 - Cape Ann Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout 

 I am only putting this on the list because of the polarity that was expressed in the group that tasted it.  I hated it the first time and it grew on me the second time.  I don't know if that had to do with too many pumpkin beers that I was taste-testing and wasn't giving this a fair shot or I like more zing to my beer and this was just too AVERAGE.  Jury is still out, I would say try it if you don't like a strong pumpkin flavor and are a stout fan.  There were a few people in the group that really liked this.

#6 - Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale

I am on and off with SA.  I have had some very nice beers lately like their new Imperial Stout and their Latitude IPA.  This beer was surprisingly good.  Maybe not a Shipyard, a Weyerbacher or Smuttynose, but it was tasty.  It was not overly pumpkin-like but had a nice mix of spice and pumpkin without being overly sweet.

Hopefully, you will still have time to check things out, although, I was at the liquor store and the Christmas beers were out and there was nothing left in way of pumpkin, so like I said bookmark this for next year!  Stay tuned, I will be posting another beer post very soon that includes a few Italian micro-brews I recently tried and we will be having the November Beer Meeting this week.  I will also be posting a little about Mike and I's first homebrew which we will try on Thursday - Brewtal Alpha Porter....

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