Recovery and Resolution

I am back. I am tired. If I have to sit in a car for 17-straight hours again, eating fast food in low rent towns across America, it will be TOO SOON! DH should feel lucky he is still an intact male after that adventure.....much too much and I'm OVER IT.


We rolled in around 3am this morning and had to be up at 9am so we could head back to Ontario to pick up the cat. I did a little grocery shopping off my new Abs Diet list today, so at least that has started. I'm starting tomorrow, even though I question the brains of the author a little bit. He never talks about cardio as being useful, and I'm all about the cardio, so we shall see. He also has all these crappy recipes with ice cream and other horrid foods in them.....you'd think he'd realize that some of this has to be calorie-driven, and that ice cream is too bad for you. I figure I shall do my best to combine the Abs Diet with Weight Watchers, the Abs Diet strength training at home, my PT for my knee (getting bad again), and our tri training which gears up in a week. We have our first race in April - my first Oly distance - so I suspect we'll start right in on our training program as opposed to lollygagging around under the guise of that misnamed "off season."

This week of inactivity has made me feel horrid. About everything, especially myself and my weight. Something must be changed.

On the Christmas front, we had a good one despite all the freaking snow. It seemed to snow the entire time we were there, and no car ride was without its hair raising adventures. Thank goodness I kept my 4WD car all these years. :)

So, the Christmas booty. I got one of those T2 transition bags from Triathlon Bags.....not what I asked for, but my sister did a very thorough internet review and told me that this particular bag would stand the test of time. So I am very happy that she did the research I did not do and saved me from a bad pack!! I also got the Garmin 305....and boy, is it slick:

It's kind of complicated, but I read the manual and am hopeful I can replicate the results in the field. :) I actually got 2 of these at Christmas......I guess giving everyone the same list isn't my most brilliant move. At least now I can return the one DH bought and apply it towards the new bike. Which I need to buy, but I'm dragging my feet. Must get him a job!

Now, the resolution part. I usually don't do this because the new year rarely inspires me to do or change much of anything. But this year is different. I am inspired, and will try to accomplish these 2 tasks:

1. I want to lose 10 lbs by May so that I don't have the temptation to register as an Athena. (And before anyone tells me it's cheating to register in the heavyweight division, bite me. I carry around the required lbs and I'm not proud of them-- they may as well work for me some other way! But seriously, would rather be an age grouper with no alternative) See above reference to Abs Diet and Weight Watchers to get me back to the way things should be.

2. I'm going to stop using the f-bomb. I've been pretty obnoxious about it lately, using it more times than I could count while driving yesterday. I've decided that the f-bomb does not make me a more attractive woman....and if it ever crept into my work life, I'd be pretty upset. So out it goes. I'm f-ing up a storm right now just to get it out of my system....but trust me when I say, "it's outta here!"

So, that's it from me. I hear Sound of Music is on, so I must run. The hills are calling, and it's time for my yearly singalong! (And yes, some of the singing WILL be intentionally bad and loud to get back at DH for that lovely drive)

Gluttony

Guilty! Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, and guilty! One for each of my personalities: Chocolate, Peanut Butter, White Bread, Cookie, Brownie, and Dean & Deluca Candy Peach.

Why must there be so many temptations this time of the year? And why I am hatin' on life so much that I'm one of the first to raid the gift baskets when they hit the kitchen at work? Last year, I was such a food snob. "Oh, no, I can't eat that. It's a slippery sloap. No sirree!" I got a reputation for being the food snob. "Better watch out, Joe Blow, Mtngirlincali might get sick if she sees you eating that Big Mac and french fries." Not now. She may ask if she can have a few.

What is up with this? I went through a major transformation in my life 3 years ago. I dropped 38 lbs before my wedding, and I've since gained 8 back. It's horrible, and I don't want them there, but they don't seem to want to go away. And with the way I've been eating lately, I wouldn't be surprised if even more join them! I'm just so frustrated, but weight loss is a frame of mind. You have to want it. You have to commit to the sacrifices you WILL have to make, because you have a greater goal in mind. I need that goal now. I need that focus. There is no more wedding dress to squeeze into. There is no more "vision" of what I might be able to look like. I just need to pull from within and get a grip on the PLAN, and stick to it.

How's this for motivation, Self? In your new favorite sport, speed is achieved by a number of means. There's talent, of course. There's aerodynamics. And there's WEIGHT..... People are buying carbon bikes, carbon water bottle holders, lightweight wheels..... all to get a lighter bike. Well hell, you can save yourself a thousand dollars if you lose a few pounds off of YOUR body, not your bike. Surely that must be an excellent solution and motivation? And who won your age group in your 5K this weekend? The thin-as-a-rail chickie, that's who! Big boobs, a spare tire, and a big badonkadonk don't make for speed. LOSE THE WEIGHT, Chubmeister. Put the cookie down. Remember what it's like to cross the finish line, and think about doing it with GOOD race photos!


....okay, not so sure that worked, but I have to start somewhere.

We leave for Colorado on Saturday, and I am dreading the drive. For once, I'd just like to chill out and not be torn between families on Christmas day. To be honest, I haven't even given much thought to our "plan" once we are there, but I think I will be selfish and just do what I want to do. I need a day of shopping on my own once I get there. I want to be alone.

Work is insane, but I got a raise next year, so I am pleased. Good thing I've signed up for the 7:30pm training session with our tri club next month.....I'll probably be at work that late every night! They will definitely be making me earn my keep this coming year, of that I am sure.

So enough from me. I'm going to go yell at my stomach in the mirror and then head to sleep.

#2.....#2, Baby!

Yes!!!!!

Runners are slower than triathletes. Imagine that!!!

OK, so, runners who decided to show up for the Santa Run this morning in my age group just suck.....so yours truly got #2 in her age group, first time out in a 5K! You know why?? Because triathletes know how to pace themselves. They understand their pace. (And this particular triathlete got pretty darn lucky that the real runners slept in this morning)

So, I didn't hit my goal time. In fact, I was a minute over it, but I am still elated. I was at the back of the start "chute," with over 1000 runners, and it took us over a minute to get through the chute and to the road where we could actually run. It wasn't until 0.4 miles into the race that there was enough room to "run" at a pace faster than a 12-minute mile, so that second half had to be pretty quick to keep the pace up. I had a great time running in costume. My stockings stayed up. I warmed up enough to run in my tank top. The knees held up (although they are singing now). My pre-race nutrition (one piece of toast with PB) stayed down (barely). Just an excellent day all around.

I permitted DH to not run. He isn't trained for the distance, and to be honest, 3 miles is still considered an endurance event. Rather than have his name be forever associated with walking on the internet, I gave him the free pass to stand by the finish line and take pictures. I think he actually enjoyed himself and it sort of motivated him to get out there and get active. The race would have been even more fun had we been out there together. He's even asking about half marathons in March. Can you believe it? I've died and gone to heaven.

So, here are a few pics of me today. I still look like I'm dying out on the run. Thank goodness for triathlons and the bike leg.....I think I'm a sexy bitch on the bike. (Just kidding!! But I certainly don't throw pained faces on the bike like I do on the run--- it's pretty embarassing looking back at me)

Make Room for Santa

I'm committed!

Well, not in the sense that perhaps you think I ought to be committed.......but I am committed to a race. Tomorrow. A RUNNING race. Oh yes, this is momentous indeed. The girl who could not do the mile run in elementary school is entered in the Santa 5K. And so is her lazy ass husband! (Shhhh.....he thinks he's going to be walking with a girl from my work.....but he's going to be all alone so I hope he reconsiders his walking strategy) I think I'm sick of being all talk and no action, and my base for running is well above the 3-mile marker now. My best time in a triathlon for a 5K is something like 27:35, so I'm going to push for 27 flat and see how that goes.

Coach....lovely, sweet, bitchy Coach.....has been particularly evil in run club the past few weeks. She surrendered her role as sweep so that she could torture myself and another (a mom many times over with grown kids who signed up for California 70.3 -- in just a few months, she looks fantastic!) woman in the lead role. So we've been doing fartleks (I think that's what you call speed intervals, except I really hate to even write "fartlek" in my blog because it does seem inappropriate!) and our calm, relaxing long runs have become a thing of the past. I always end these nights whimpering, heaving, and with my hip flexors so tight you could play a tune on them. Ugh! But I'm hoping that this has given me a tiny bit more speed so I won't embarass myself out there more than my costume will have done.

Yes, I have a costume. Now, it's not Steve Stenzel-quality, but it's going to be cute. I bought my stockings in San Francisco earlier this week. Am considering creating a little Santa skirt at Jo-Anns this afternoon, but I may just leave the costume at the stockings. We'll see.

Well, I'm going to finish this now before I go into my insane work life or my inability to complete my Christmas shop. Or my increasing trepidation about my upcoming journey, via car, to Colorado in my poor car. And my cat, who must stay in the IE. Oh, what has life come to?

Until then, think of me tomorrow. Pray that my husband doesn't divorce me over running/walking this race alone. :)

Out of Steam

What a week!

I've put in more hard hours at work this week than I have the entire time I've been out in CA. I've talked to my old boss, the chief development officer, more times than I have in about a year. I've skipped lunches and dinners (but trust me, I still managed to eat plenty) to get analyses done. And I saw 5am for something not triathlon-related for the first time in a very, very long time. Call me spent.

I came home last night and just collapsed. No shopping for me. No movies. No nothin'. Exercise has been rough this week, too. I made it to run club on Thursday (I literally grabbed my keys and snuck out of the office), but I hadn't eaten for 6 hours and was a little dehydrated. I started out just fine, but then coach had us run some intervals and by the end I was seeing stars and ready to just go to sleep. Horrible run! To top it off, McTrainer quit and is now at a different club. So it was just Coach and us tri girls gabbing away....which is good, but Coach was always the sweep so she never saw me and never pushed me too much. Now she's in eyesight and her brain is churning. That's always trouble.

Christmas plans have not progressed nicely, either. We have nothing purchased yet for Christmas. Nobody is done! I've been a little too stressed out to think about much of anything, let alone Christmas. But I guess that is what today and tomorrow is for. On the going-home front, we find that we are now limited by our beloved cat. He's on four wait lists right now for kennels, and now hubby is talking about getting him into a kennel in Riverside because it's on our way to Colorado! My precious, in the I.E.? Heck no! I'd rather stay home and be miserable. So we will just have to wait this one out and see what happens. I dread being alone on Christmas, but we'll make it work.

So that's the scoop. Stress. Lots of it. Stress eating. Not so much productive training. Christmas malaise/panic. No food in the house. Unemployed hubby. Ho ho ho!

But on the bright side, I must share a photo of my precious little Santa. We did manage to find time on Sunday to take our Christmas card photo:

Yes, I am Fast

In transition!

So, we had our annual Christmas party for our tri-team this past Friday. A fun event, although not everyone showed up so it was a pretty small group. (OK, there were 70 people, but that seemed small) We ate our dinner, then waited around for the year-end awards. In retrospect, I shouldn't have expected anything. I'm one of the better swimmers, but there were a few faster than me. I am pretty quick on the bike, but in practice, Jill is faster than me. And on the run....well, take your pick-- there are oodles of women who can get me. So there wasn't a chance for an individual award, but I was thinking all-around, I'm a pretty consistant top 1/3 - 1/4 finisher here. Maybe??

Nope! Yours truly gets "Fastest Transitioner." Ugh. It kind of took the wind out of my sails. Anybody can transition fast! Argh.... While I was flattered at the thought, it did motivate me to get even better next season. I'll be fastest biker if it KILLS me. Coach told everyone I was getting a new bike, too, so now the pressure is really on to drop the cash and get fast.

From the sounds of things, everyone took "off season" literally. People have lost their fitness already and are only managing a few gym classes a week, much like me. You can tell we are newbies. After reading all these triathlon blogs, it has become VERY clear to me that although you all talk about an off season, you are liars. You aren't resting. You aren't casually strolling through the woods on your mountain bike. This is an extension of your yearly training, and you all aren't losing one bit of fitness. I hate you! (OK, just kidding here....I wish I were as focused)

We spoke about the schedule for next year, and oddly enough, only 2 others have signed up for Barb's Race. Coach has taken it a step farther with me, however. If you are going to do Barb's Race and you hate running, why not just do the full Aquabike and be done with it? I fell out of my chair at this point. The FULL Aquabike? As in, 2 of the 3 phases of Ironman Aquabike? Now, the 1/2 Aquabike I was all over. I can swim 1.2 miles in my sleep and the 58 mile bike, although sucky, would be infinitely attainable on more than a half a year of training. But the Iron distance? Holy wh*ref*ckBatman! I seriously need to sit down with myself and think this through.

Coach says we need to have a fire burning inside of us to do this. I don't know if you can define my desire as "burning." It's not even a fire, really. I just want to prove to myself that I can make my body do something I never thought it could possibly do. I want to break down this perception I have of myself of not being particularly athletic. I mean, I did sports as a kid, but I always thought endurance sports were for the cross country running team. So I want to prove to myself I can do it. THEN perhaps I can go back to my bread and butter and try to get faster.....because I think I may very well be a sprinter at heart.

On a sad note, the last of my childhood cats was put to sleep yesterday back in Colorado. Cocoa (aka "Beans") came to us as a kitten in December of 1991. We begged and pleaded with my parents for us to get him, as he was so precious with his seal point marking and little white boots. After many trips in and out of the shop, my parents gave in and he was ours. And boy, was he a crazy boy! We lost many, many rolls of toilet paper that winter. The Christmas tree nearly fell over several times. Our jeans were lined with punctures, as Cocoa loved to take a flying leap from the ground and "stick" to your leg. Cocoa also loved Easter. There was something about eggs and the sound they make when they hit the floor that was irresistable to him. When Cocoa settled down into adulthood, his favorite pasttimes turned from troublemaking to sleeping and eating. Cocoa never met a shrimp he didn't like. You so much as cracked a cocktail shrimp tail and he would come running, SCREAMING, from anywhere in the house, as though his life depended on getting that shrimp. Christmas after Christmas, Cocoa would raid the stockings looking for teriyaki beef jerky, his other "must-have" in life. It became a tradition--- setting the stocking up with beef jerky so Cocoa could "break in" and steal it, even though it was all rigged.

I suppose Cocoa didn't really start to get sick until this past summer. He was nearly 17 years old, and it was just time for his body to start shutting down. My sister eased him into this transition in his life as best as she could....being a vet tech, she had all sorts of drugs to treat his thyroid, kidneys, and joints. Yesterday, when he could no longer eat, she had him on a heating pad until it was time to have him put down. I was sad I could not be there to say goodbye, but good ol' Beans was there for Thanksgiving and I had a chance to spend several days with him then, knowing full well that this would be the last time. So Beans is gone, and with him, a piece of my childhood. He's got some great company at the Bridge, though, and he will always hold a very big piece of my heart.

Happy trails, my buddy.

I Feel Good?

Yes, that is a question mark. Mainly because I've felt like crap this week, but right now....I'm feelin' good.

Tonight was run club. Now, I hate running. Despise it. Loathe it. But somehow, once I'm out there, it's exciting when I find my groove. Sometimes I feel like I could go on and on.....but eventually, my cardiovascular capacity catches up to me and I go downhill. Tonight, I headed off with McTrainer (ladies, he is a fine manly specimen, and ALL business) and the new girl, a thin little co-ed newbie triathlete from a swimming background. I was surprised that I could hang with them for so long. In fact, it took them a good 18 minutes to drop me! We were headed up the hill of doom, a one mile climb from HELL that I can run up, but slowly. They lengthened as I shortened, and I watched McTrainer shake his booty in the dark until I could no longer see his flashing light. I did okay on my own, although every rustle in the dark made me more aware of my surroundings. Perhaps it picked me up.....because I cranked out 9 minute miles, baby! Dropped 5 minute off my time from two weeks ago, too. Oh, please let there be hope for me at longer distances.....

Last night was a bit of a disaster. Coach did a trainer session open to the public, so I decided to go. But the Cheeto was in no condition for a spin session, so I had to take my mountain bike which I hadn't ridden since July! Ouch. The handlebars were horribly uncomfortable, standing was impossible because the big ring is a wimp, and halfway through, my toe cramped so bad I was cringing on the floor for the rest of the workout. What a defeat. I felt like such a pansy. A pansy on a mountain bike, no less, amidst all the fancy tri bikes.

Work has been so amazingly stressful. Heck, I don't even know if I'll have a job in the future. Nobody seems to know anything......

And my kitty is sick. Poor baby has an upper respiratory infection and sneezes all day long, launching kitty boogies everywhere. But I think his antibiotic is kicking his rear more than the infection--- he has lost his appetite (trust me, this is huge) and has kitty diarrhea. Hubby is having trouble coming to grips with this, as it means every time my darling sneezes, he leaks. So I chase him around the house with toilet paper and hubby squeals in disgust. It's kind of funny, really.

So there's the update. I'm finally a little more active, just need to hop in the pool. Job is weird. Kitty is sick. But I'm still in that post-run haze where despite all of this, everything is all right.

The cure for fitness

I think I have lost every shred of fitness that I had a month and a half ago. It is with great shame to admit that it's been a week since I've gotten off my duff. In my defense, I did get seriously ill on Friday and Saturday with a horrid fever and nausea, but that is beside the point. I feel wrotten, and I'm technically healthy again!

So I'm racking my brains as to how I am going to recover what little bit of endurance I had over the next week. Spin tomorrow night. Pool on Wednesday night. Run club on Thursday. Perhaps go out with hubby on Friday night (I bet I could find some ways to burn calories there....) That should be a start, at least. If I don't watch out, the other girls from my group may actually be able to keep up with me. And let's be honest-- I love being the fastest. I can't handle anyone beating me!

I was reading some blogs the other day about the differences between all the triathlon distances. They seem to say that Olympic is a good distance for swimmers and cyclists. I don't really get this, because I'm a slow runner......I see a 6 mile run as an opportunity for a good runner to gain 24 minutes on me. Now, even if I kick their rear in the swim and the bike, I probably won't kick 24 minutes of rear. So I don't know how this Olympic thing will go for me. Am I just a sprinter? Is this all that was planned for me? Do I even have any business going longer when I suck so bad at running? Ugh.

I suppose I should channel all this angst into momentum....to the gym.

Man, all this talk of racing is making me feel fat.

Altitude Schmaltitude

At least that's what I thought when I planned my 5-mile run yesterday. Get up, grab some coffee, eat my banana, and then enjoy a gorgeous Colorado day by hitting the trail outside of the in-laws house. I strapped on my heart rate monitor, slathered on some sunscreen, and off I went.....but holy cow, 0.8 miles in my heart rate was where it is at the very end of my runs. So I changed my strategy--- walk every .8 miles. Which worked great for three or four minutes, but then the heart rate went even higher. What's up with that?! I reassess the situation and decide that I need to perhaps go shorter today and try to bring my heart rate down, as it's now nearing max range. (It's 4 beats below where it is after I've done 3 200-meter all-out sprints!)

I ended up only managing 3.2 miles of running and 1 mile of walking before giving in to my poor heart. Legs felt amazing, but the altitude totally defeated me. How in the heck do athletes come here and do well in games or competitions if they aren't acclimated for a week? I'm flabbergasted.

So aside from the weak workout and abundance of food everywhere, I'm still hanging. Got to visit Colorado Multisports yesterday and pick their brains about organized triathlon training for my cousin in Boulder, so that was fun. I really wanted to shop, but figured I need to focus my attentions on Christmas. For my family, not for me! Today, I'm hitting up the local bike shop down South to ask about all-women group rides for beginners.....I want to get my little sister into something so she can start to feel better about herself. It's now my mission to enroll everyone I know into group exercise programs.

So for now, I'm off to catch up on my blog reading and drink more decaf coffee. (I know, it's the pits....we had to make an emergency coffee shop run at 5pm yesterday because my headache wanted to KILL my husband)

Vacation

I'm FREE!!!!

9 whole days of uninterrupted, work-free vacation.....right in front of me. I'm PSYCHED!

Hubby and I are headed back to Colorado to visit our families for Thanksgiving. Of course, vacation is a relative term. Since everyone wants a piece of our time, this vacation is more like "satiation" for our loved ones. We must split our time up into carefully planned segments, making sure that everybody gets their fair share of us. In-laws must get X number of nights and days, which must not exceed the number of nights and days allocated to MY parents. Tricky business, to be sure. What will not be taken into account, however, is history. Never mind that hubby, one month ago, spent nearly a week with his parents whilst on his way back from his failed airline training in Texas. (Skipping my last triathlon of the season, I'll have you) Nope, that time wasn't good enough. I now have to spend the first 3 days of my Colorado trip at their house, doing who knows what.

Oh, wait. There's that running track and rec center not more than a 5-minute walk from their house. Guess where I'll be LIVING for the next few days?

OK, so I am bitter. How could I not be? I love DH, and sometimes I love his parents, but I love them from afar. Being in their plain vanilla house and doing the same exact trips with them every time we visit gets a little old. Oftentimes, we just sit in front of the television for hours and hours. This will happen even more now, as they just renovated their basement into a huge TV room with a mammoth flatscreen. Help me!

My parents' house, on the other hand, is exciting. My sisters will be there. My old cats and dog will be there. My old room. My friends will be home visiting their families, and I can visit them. It's still a little bit of "home" for me. I suppose I'll get my share of it, but that's just never enough.

At any rate, sorry about my Thanksgiving tirade. It's just such a bummer to think that I get all these days away from work, but I can't enjoy them because I'm trying to appease everybody else. The price we pay for following our careers and moving far from the nest?

OK, back to my fun stuff. Bike porn. OMG, I had the best time at my bike fitting the other night. Turns out yours truly is totally, completely comfortable at a 79 degree seat angle. YES! How aggressive is this?! (OK, I think that was referring to the seat angle, but I can't be 100% certain--- I'm a newbie, remember?) I was so pleased with the comfort associated with this position. Compared to my torturous Trek 1000SL, with the bike seat that destroys my precious girl parts, the tri position is like divine intervention. So comfortable. Even my legs felt fantastic. Did I mention I have a new favorite LBS? My FIST-certified fitter was phenomenal, patient, and funny, and I'm running back there on January 1st (gotta get the bonus first!) to order my tri bike.

So if hubby isn't employed by then, I'm going to get the heinous red Felt S32. If he is employed, mama's gettin' the S22. I do hate the color red, but I suppose I'll make an exception here. After all, my least favorite color on the planet is orange and I'm currently riding the Cheeto. Which brings me to the whole name thing. What does one name a red bike? Part of me really wants to call it "Orgasmo," but it's entry level so not quite sure it evokes that in anybody. I suppose I'll have to ride it first to find out.

Other late breaking news: I joined a run club. OK, not quite a club, but an after-hours evening running group that goes out of 24-Hour fitness once a week for 45 minutes to an hour. My coach is the sweep for the group and said that it was open to the public, so I decided to get my rear in gear and attend. I'm a group workout fanatic, what can I say? The lead group goes off at an 8-minute mile pace, which I can only sustain for a mile and a half, so I just did my own thing and ended up with a leisurely 10-minute mile pace for the whole 3.5 miles. We lopped off the last half mile because my hip flexors felt like they were going to die a long and horrid death. But what a fantastic idea! If only they met twice a week, I'd be doing much better with my running.

My goal is to just keep working at it over the winter and see if there's any improvement. I just have to keep being impressed with myself. I'm the girl that couldn't even run the mile in high school! I would walk, totally out of breath and hating life, around the track with hatred in my eyes. (I was also the first girl in every 1/4 mile sprint we ever did, but that's a story for another day)

So with that, I think I'm going to go on my "vacation." I just hope it doesn't feel more like work.

Of Fit and Fancy

I can't say I've been doing a heck of a lot of anything these days, and judging by my torturous performance in spin class yesterday, I've lost what little fitness I had back in the season. The knees are starting to hurt again (darn you for throwing away thousands of your insurance company's dollars on physical therapy!), and I'm back on the diet. At least I have 3 pounds to show for all my effort. But let's not address the fact that exercise and caloric deficit are not things that work for me.

So, in the midst of turmoil at work and uncertainty with hubby's career at home, I've decided that my Trek 1000 SL is not the bike I'd like to continue riding in my races. Call it faulty tuneups or a faulty bike, but the gearing has never sorted itself out and I had to do my last race STUCK in gear. It was a flat time trial course, and I was stuck in the middle ring, unable to shift in the back. Yeah, it was a real field day and a miracle I was able to go as fast as I did. At any rate, here's my dilemma. I feel like I'm fairly fast on the bike, at least in sprints. I'm a real crap runner. So the more distance I can put between people in the bike and the swim, the better. I need some sort of edge on this darn bike! I had the fastest bike split in my relay group in Long Beach, and I'm one of the faster ones in my age group...but the top girls definitely have a few mph on me. Granted, a lot of that is fitness, but could some of it be that they are more aerodynamic??

My dilemma is this: Do I upgrade my Trek 1000 to a slightly-better road bike and slap some aerobars on it? Knowing that the best I can do is a 2006 Trek 5000 in my price range, but maybe not even that much because I'd still need to get the aerobars and a fitting within that budget?

Or do I take the plunge and get a tri bike? And keep the road bike for practices?

The roadies all say "get a good road bike." The triathletes ask if I have any interest in group rides or being a roadie. I say no. So they say, "get a tri bike!" Why can't this choice be easy?

Coach says that my training will be hill-focused over the next 6 months. Roadies say you can't climb hills on tri bikes. Well, I ask, how the heck can you ride it in a triathlon if it can't climb hills? I don't GET THIS! Totally flippin' confused. It is apparent, though, that I will need a road bike for the easy rides....somehow you can't take it easy on a tri bike? Again, never been on one, so I haven't a clue.

One thing I must say, though, is that they are all very sexy indeed. I have a fitting tonight to check out how I ride and see what frame geometry will be most comfortable for me. My hubby thinks it's a bit excessive to spend an hour and a half measuring me for a bike I may not even buy, but I think it'll be helpful and worth the investment. I hope so!
Here are my sexy bike choices. Any opinions on what I should do???

Next Year

Our long-awaited training program was just released today, and with it came a number of decisions about next year.

I've been thinking about myself a lot the past few weeks. How I've never really challenged myself to do something I wasn't sure I could do. In fact, I'm the type of person who would rather not try than to fail, because I love being the best at what I do. Why purposely put myself in a situation where I might not succeed? Now, I don't get this in many places in life, because I'm still slightly young, stupid, and believe I can do most anything. But physically? I have no idea if I have a Half Ironman in me. Heck, acknowledging that maybe I could do Olympic distance was hard enough. But after chatting with Sixtwothreetries, my hubby, and myself, I think I've finally decided.

I don't know what the future is going to bring. I know that my biological clock is ticking and eventually I have to face the fact that I ought to have kids. Work may move me to some other coastal city and take me away from my Tridivas! Or I could hurt myself and not be able to race. But these are things that will happen when they happen....but probably not next year. So while I have the time, the body, and the ability.....I think I may just go for it.

That being said, here's the schedule for next year, subject to additions!

April 12, 2008 Irongirl Triathlon, Lake Las Vegas (Olympic distance)
June 15, 2008 Danskin Triathlon, Somewhere in SoCal (Sprint distance)
August 2, 2008 Barb's Race, Vineman (Half Ironman)
August 24, 2008 Santa Barbara Triathlon (super sprint)

I'm shaking in my boots, but I need to test myself. Can't think of a better way.

Got back in the pool today, too. A little slower than usual, but I'm back! With new motivation to not lose my fitness level....

3 More Days

That is how much longer I must wait before I hit the pool and get medieval on my freestyle. Oh, yeah....

I'm happy to report that my shave biopsy is healing nicely. I haven't gotten the results back yet, but I'm optimistic. I received interesting news today that my 2nd sister has now been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Even worse than her twin! So now the wheels are turning in my head.....an entire triathlon season with no weight loss, a feeling of constantly being naked in Antarctica, a high body temperature, pale as a ghost, random nausea..... Could it be that I need an endocrinologist and some Synthroid to give me my energy back?

Oh, to be warm and not pale. Is that too much to ask? Rest assured, I'm getting my lazy arse into the endo ASAP to get a full workup. Because if it's in my two sisters, shouldn't I get it, too??! (OK, no need to explain genetics to me....I was a molecular bio undergrad....this was a rhetorical question)

The parents came back from their cruise on Saturday. I think my poor mother nearly cried as we drove out of sight of the boat. They had the time of their lives, and were content to sit on their rears and watch football ALL weekend long. I pryed her away just long enough to do some shopping on Sunday, but that was about it. I also managed a solo run on Saturday, but the coughing and burning in my lungs afterwards proved that I was a total moron for exercising outside so soon.

Work is still frustrating and long. I'm all over the place at this point, as you might imagine from all the chaos above. But I'm here to vent, and vent I shall.

The big news is that I'm going to try to hit a Weight Watchers meeting tomorrow afternoon. It's funny, but watching ER and Abby's struggle with alcoholism has sort of pushed me back to what worked for me in the first place. I owe WW so much for helping me get on track with my weight. I'm not an alcoholic, but I'm definitely addicted to food. I am a mindless, emotional eater. WW grounds me. Disciplines me. Holds me accountable for every lick and bite. I have felt so out of control lately with my eating, despite my intentions to lose weight. But after finding my meeting, I'm suddenly feeling more calm and in control. Funny how that happens! I hope that tomorrow I can find what I'm looking for and can make myself dig deep to continue my journey.

I will not race Athena next year!! Yes, I've joked about it. I could have won Pacific Coast as an Athena. And I rightly qualify, even if only by a few pounds...... But no. I want to make damn sure I'm nowhere near close next season, so there's no temptation to cheat the system. (It's not cheating, but I'm in the top 1/4 - top 1/3 of my age group consistently.....my goal is to get up even higher in the next few years!

So with that, I'm heading to bed. So I can dreaming of swimming.

Activity Breed Inactivity

I think life in general just ebbs and flows. Sometimes you get a breather here and there, and other times you get slammed and can barely keep your head above water.

Work is paying me back, RIGHT NOW, for my triathlon season.

I don't know what it is, but I'm working my tail off! I have absolutely no spare time for anything, and by the time I get home, it's totally late, dark, and I am so spitting mad all I want to do is eat and sleep. What is up with this? I really should expend some of that energy, no matter how late I get off, but I don't even know where to start? It's too dark to ride my bike outside, my arm still has another week to heal before I am allowed to swim, I can't run on the treadmill because it ruins my knees......I really only enjoy spinning, but there are only 2 classes per week I can possibly attempt to make, and I only was able to get to one of them this week!

This sounds more like a laundry list of excuses than a poignant blog entry. But what can you do? This is bothering me!

Oh, and my 10K is this weekend. I never signed up, because I knew my parents would be in town, and then we had these fires. Truthfully, the air quality has been crap for a week and a half now. I did run all last week in Vegas, but haven't kept it up since I've been home. So I think I'm going to have to pick a different 10K for my first, as the stars did not align properly for this one. Bollocks.

Maybe I'll just do the Turkey Tri with no training?

So, that's it. Work, work, work, work, work. Pissed off. Still hungry. Still fat. Hubby still unemployed. (But we have opportunity, and this is better than 2 weeks ago) Now I need to go retrieve my parents from the boat.

I'm starving

Somebody tell me why I decided to eat 1800 calories when I was training this fall? Why?

Because now I'm paying the piper. Day 1 back on WW. It's 7:32, I'm OUT of points, and I'm still hungry. This is nuts! I don't know how I did it before. Part of me feels like I need to do something active so I can earn some more points to eat....but the other part says I'm in my PJs and if I suck it up and deal for a few more days, 1300 calories will feel just fine.

So, I was in Las Vegas all week long. I left this behind, from our balcony:

Hubby was very brave and stayed behind, making sure all our belongings were packed and ready to go in case they evacuated us. The fire came within 1/4 mile for 3 or 4 days, but we are finally in the clear and owe those firefighters a debt of gratitude for saving us. I felt bad for leaving, but the fire was slow-moving....and there was nothing to do at home but wait.

Vegas was Vegas. No offense, but I'm not much of a fan. In fact, my Dad calls it the Neon Shithole and I totally agree with him. The secondhand smoke not only took precious DAYS off of my lifespan, it also turned my snot black. Yes, it's foul, but not as foul as the people smoking at all hours of the day while gambling away money they clearly do not have. It is really the worst of humanity.

That being said, I ate some amazing food. Boss is a foodie, so you bet we hit up all the best restaurants in town while we were there. I had the most amazing pan-seared halibut at Emeril's steakhouse, Delmonico....it literally melted in my mouth. (it had bits of flash-fried spinach in there, too, on a bed of orzo with a beurre blanc, but whatever--- it was sinful) I had a seafood risotto at Bartoletto at the Wynn (not terribly impressive, but our most expensive dinner). Had the BEST thin-crust margherite pizza at Mario Battali's place at the Venetian....and then had some naughty finger foods (as in, probably not good for you but SO good for you, all at the same time) at Pinot Brasserie. No, I was not a good girl, and yes, I did gain weight.

You will be happy to know that I did run while I was there. We hit the Strip twice for some early-morning runs, and I had to admit they were kind of fun. I never realized running can be a fun thing to do with your friends! My coworker and I chatted for ever and ever, it seemed, and we still managed to come in with a sub 10-minute mile 4 and 5-mile run. I'm almost up to 6 miles....I can taste it!

So there you have it. Typing in lieu of eating.

Why can't we start training again NOW so I don't have to diet again?!!!

The Aftermath

This has been a week of picking up the pieces.

DH is finally home. It's been a rough few weeks on him, and I have to think I've been experiencing many of the same emotions he has. If he followed my cycle, then last week he was devastated and felt worthless. And on Saturday, he was so angry at himself that he could spit. Today? He's calm and at ease.

We will move on. I'm not pushing him to make a choice just yet, but if I were a betting girl, I'd still say there was a pilot in there who may try to continue on. But I am not expecting anything just yet. He's still dealing with the disappointment of it all.

I'm mourning my triathlon season. Work has consumed me this week, and I've not had one spare second to take off and do a workout. Not only do I feel like a blob, but I'm realizing that my workouts were my release from all the pressure. I am going to have to make a conscious effort to stay physical these next few months, as I think it's a benefit to my mental health in addition to my physical health!

We had our end-of-the-season party last night, and the old group had a blast seeing eachother again. It's not that I don't like the newbies....I just don't know them. When I started the program in June, I was pretty upset that there were mostly older women. I'd wanted to make new friends, but just couldn't imagine how I would enjoy spending 18 weeks with housewives, retirees, and working moms who were 10+ years my senior. Funny how triathlon breaks down all those barriers. Last night, we were a giggling group of teenagers again. Chatting about husbands, races, food......but mostly, we were a group of friends who couldn't wait for the next two months to hurry up so we can be together all over again. This was a journey, and it bound us together.

Thankfully, we plan to do workouts together over the next few months to keep us sane and close. Once I get DH straightened out, I'm ready to hit the road with them and get ready! It's all about Oly distance next year....I must push myself and see once and for all what I am made of. I'm aiming for an early-season race, so we'll see how that goes!

Another major bummer about the end of triathlon is the start of Weight Watchers again. Inactivity means I don't have that nice 600 calorie buffer when I go out to eat! Wow, it's crazy how that happens. I really took some liberties with my eating that I will start to pay for if I don't watch out. I mean, I ate a waffle with apples yesterday for brunch. I didn't eat any butter or syrup, but it literally melted in my mouth so it must have been horrific for me. Stuff like that can't happen. This is the return of Egg White omlettes. No butter. No buns. Turkey burgers. Back to being the workplace Food Nazi. Yes, this is how it must be.

So that is the week in a nutshell. Picking up the pieces. And dealing with totally crappy race pictures, where I look pale as a ghost and appear to be tortured beyond comprehension. (Why don't I smile?!!) But here's the money shot, right before I ralphed. Literally, right before.

Subaru Race Report

It certainly feels like it has been a full season, even though I've only been at it since June. After getting sick at Pacific Coast, I really wanted Subaru to be my "A" race, but sometimes life hands you surprises that cut into training time and "taking care of yourself" time. So I came into Sunday feeling healthy, but perhaps not as prepared as I should have been. FYI, hubby failed. He's done. I can't talk about it, but suffice it to say, it certainly weighed heavy on me today out there on course!

I was dehydrated when I woke up, and it seems I just couldn't hydrate myself in the 2 1/2 hours leading up to the race. I got my end spot at the race and I have to admit, it was pretty sweet being position right smack dab between the swim in and bike out. I mean, it was awesome. So I got everything set up, chatted, pumped tires, used the potty, and basically tried to stay calm before they kicked us out of transition. The walk from transition down to the water was pretty rough on the tootsies, and since I had to use the potty again, I missed the whole jazzercise warmup thing. But really, I thought it sounded pretty cool. What a way to relieve some stress! The race start was really emotional for me this time around. Blame it on hormones or circumstance, but I cried like a baby when the Triumph wave went off. I felt such a sense of pride seeing our own cancer survivor teammates start us off in the race. But I finally pulled myself together and got into the water for our swim start.

Ahhh, the treading water start. I initially thought I would enjoy it because oftentimes, in my mad dash to the ocean, I trip as soon as I hit the water and faceplant into the water in front of my entire wave and everyone else who is still watching. So I was excited that today there would be no public humiliation at the start. But instead, there were people who thought they swam fast who got in the very front of the wave and flailed around at the start, proving to be a most difficult barrier to pass!! I got kicked, groped, and grabbed more times in this race than in any of the others this season (okay, just Pacific Coast and Santa Barbara, but still). Instead of "settling" into my swim like I normally do, I tried to push it a little harder than usual. In retrospect, I wish I'd done more, but my body felt a little sluggish out there and I couldn't generate the power that I knew I could in my stroke. I was feeling pretty bad about the whole swim until I hit the blue caps in front of me, then straightened out and headed in to shore. Not having waves take me out on the return to shore was worth the price of admission, that is for sure.

So, into transition I go. Was tired coming out of the water, but it was a good tired. Hit the mat in a decent time, then whipped off the wetsuit and changed into my shoes. Got the bike over the mat and actually managed to clip in on the first try. Now, in other races, I wasted SO MUCH TIME trying to get my feet into the cages....having clips was shockingly easier. And it was only my 3rd ride in them, so imagine my surprise at the ease of getting going so quickly. I headed out on the bike and tried to play with my gears to see what I could push. Unfortunately, I hadn't been able to take my bike in for a much needed tuneup before the race (got to love last-minute travel and your company being acquired!), so it wasn't shocking when my bike decided it didn't want to go into the big ring up front. But when it wouldn't even ride in the little ring in back, I knew it was going to be a rouch day. Rather than grind my gears and ruin my chain, I stuck with the gear that provided the most resistance and the least amount of grinding.....and I really could only sustain an 18.5 mph average for the whole race. This was a little disappointing, because this was a flat time trial race and I really wanted to push myself out there and see what I could do. In Long Beach, I was hitting 23 mph on my straights and easily sustaining. Here, I was lucky to see 20 and 21 with the gears I had to work with. All in all, it was an okay bike. I pedaled as fast as I could, but I really felt like I left a lot on the table.

Coming in from the bike, my hands and feet were totally numb. This was an entirely new feeling for me, and so the scientist in me was thinking, "what could this be? Sodium? Dehydration? Hypoglycemia?" I was a little freaked out. So I grabbed 2 shot bloks in transition, sucked them down with some Cytomax, and hoped it was a sugar thing. My heart rate was racing and my quads were a little crampy, and unlike most races where I can usually get the heart rate down while running, I had to walk 3 times in my first mile. Eventually the numbness went away, the tightness went away, and I settled into my run pace. Too bad it took a mile and I'd already blown my time......my first mile ended up adding 4 minutes to my mile pace, so I had to pick it up in the end to try to salvage the race and make my goal time. (You guys have to understand, I am competitive with myself and I set these time goals for me every race.....it helps me to not compare myself to the other girls in my age group, and it sets the bar so that I push myself a little more than in training) I sprinted into the finish line after getting my lei from Kelly, and at the end, after the announcer said my name, I lost my Cytomax and shot blocks all over the finish line. It was pretty foul, but they handed me a towel, took my chip, and acted like people throw up all the time--- I hope they weren't just kidding. I was upset, though. I missed my goal time by a minute and a half, and I threw up at the finish line. My moment of glory! It was pretty emotional, and not in the good way.

All things considered, I did enjoy the race. Fantastic venue, awesome volunteers, and totally well-run. Compared to the chaos that was Long Beach (and sometimes Pacific Coast), it was exciting to see another race that was done well.

So can you believe it? After all the worry back in June, with Jynell's ushering, I signed up for Tridivas and I've finished my first full triathlon season. I've found a hobby that I love, met some amazing teammates who I now consider friends, am in the best shape of my life, and can't wait for more! Yes, those starts are brutal on me, but the sense of accomplishment I feel after completing each race more than makes up for the torture beforehand. I needed these triathlons so much this summer/fall. I feel so lucky to be a part of this amazing sport. (It really is, I swear.....I was competetitve in horseback riding and tennis through college, and I can honestly say that triathletes are a breath of fresh air)

With that, I'm going to go veg out with some Desperate Housewives and keep drinking.

Just Because

I'm having one of those days. No inspiration. No purpose. Everything I do is....just because.

Hubby did not pass his final exam two nights ago. Today, he had to talk to the chief pilot and basically beg to be given one last shot. He got it-- went promptly into an FTD session where he was drilled for 3 hours to see how proficient he was. His instructor said he was fine and recommended a training session followed by a retest. So we dodged another bullet, until his retest tomorrow night. This is what he's been wanting for 5 years now. The dream job. He even got his dream base, right close to home. (that NEVER happens) It was all too perfect, and it could be over tomorrow night. I'm trying to stay strong for him. To encourage him. To tell him he's going to pull through and it's going to be alright, but doubt is a nagging feeling that nips at me when I try to think past today. My worrying about him has left me paralyzed. Yes, I can work. Yes, I can function. But I don't feel.

There's shit going around work, too. Everyone seems to have cold. I guess they didn't get the memo that I was trying to have my "A" race this weekend. I mean, seriously.....I got sick the day before Pacific Coast. Now I'm getting snotty and I have a fever. Like, 100 degree, not my typical 99. I don't feel anything, though. It's just a number on a thermometer.

So I hit the pool tonight with a few of the slower teammates. It was cold, and I didn't have as much energy as I'd hoped, but it was a good distraction. Coach even showed up in the end to get a little swim in as well. What a hoot she is! We had a great time, but she couldn't resist crossing the line and coaching again. Apparently I reach down too far with my stroke and it's straining my rotator cuff. The correction had me making shallow strokes that didn't seem to get me anywhere.....so I've decided to ignore it and deal with it in the off-season. I'm going to tear my rotator cuff up in Mission Bay on Sunday and nobody can stop me!

We spent our night discussing cancer, of all things. Coach is a survivor. One of our teammates is a survivor. A neighbor of Coach's had a double mastectomy this morning. I watched an amazing 2-hour documentary last night called "Crazy Sexy Cancer," about a vibrant young women's journey with incurable cancer. It was overwhelming. Perplexing. Sad. But we left our talk inspired. I guess that made it worthwhile.

So to end the day with cancer really did put it all into perspective. Hubby may be going through a tough time right now, and his future may end up being uncertain if he doesn't make it through this. But in the end, we'll still have eachother....mostly healthy......mostly happy.....and most definitely in love. So we'll get through this and be thankful that we have so much in life. Hopefully we don't dwell on what we don't have.

But that is a topic for tomorrow.

Just because.

Should I? Could I?

Peer pressure is getting to me again. A group of girls are signing up for an event on November 4th, offering both a 5K and a 10K. Silly me says, "since it's JUST a run, why don't we do the 10K?" Never mind I've only WALKED a 10K before. That the farthest I've ever run before was 4.5 miles. No, somehow I have this crazy idea in my head.

Like the good student I am, I immediately e-mailed Coach to see what she thought of this crazy idea. We have a 5K base to start from, but we can't start to train until after the triathlon next weekend, as this is taper week and I don't want to hurt myself before my "A" race. (I'm ready! I am really, really ready and I can't wait!) Is 3 weeks enough time to add the distance? With a walk-run strategy?

Why am I like this?

Did the mock triathlon up in Seal Beach today. Except I refused to swim, because I just really hate swimming at Seal Beach and I was behind on my biking. So off I went when the hordes headed to shore....I hit the trails! I felt like such a bad girl, but whatever. I am following my own training goals, and freaking out about sting rays is NOT one of my training goals this week. At any rate, the Cheeto wouldn't get into the big ring, so I was a bit pissed off. It means I have to take it to the Bike Yahoos AGAIN this week, even though the yahoos aren't even that close to me. And before I get in trouble for calling them yahoos, one of them is not. The store manager. He's the only one who can actually tune a bike for crap. The rest are yahoos. So I need the manager. Desperately!

Regardless, had a heinous head wind on the way out, but on the way back, I took one minute off of each mile. So bizarre. And I only tried to kill myself with the SPD pedals once. I took a wrong turn off a trail and came upon a gate pretty quickly. Forgot to clip out, then had one out, then the body wanted to put BOTH feet down! I will hurt myself one of these days, I just know it.

I also had a most excellent run today. I felt strong, and were it not for the rabid/geriatric/baby squirrel in the road (I couldn't tell which, and after an indeterminable amount of time, I decided not to find out and left him wandering the streets...what am I gonna do with a meandering scruffy squirrel?), I think my overall time would have been much improved. I think my stride rate is increasing, and with that, a wee bit o' speed. Granted, I'm still Granny out there, but I'm Granny hopped up on some major caffeine. Finally, some progress I can feel!!

I was worried that I wasn't working as hard as I did before Pacific Coast and that perhaps my performance at Subaru will suffer, but looking at my times in practice, I'm still improving. I guess that's what a "base" is all about, eh? So here's hoping I still feel this great next weekend and that it'll all come together. I just want to do my very best, and if that means I finish in the middle of the pack, so be it! But I want to peak on Sunday.

With that, I'm off to watch some tube. And anxiously await word on DH. He passed training gate 3 and 7, and tonight is his final proficiency checkride! I'm hoping against hope that he makes it, as that would mean he will be home within a week. I'm going to need him when training is over....I'll be so bored. So, positive thoughts, once again. (Hopefully, just this one last time)

Why is Coach ALWAYS right?

It kills me, really. Or perhaps it just gives me more faith in her coaching.

She has this saying, "good form equals free speed." Today, I tried to take it to heart in the pool. We had to do a timed 1000 meter time trial as part of our program for the week, and I've been feeling pretty stagnant in the water lately. People I swim with in the ocean have been passing me in the pool during longer swims, and I have started to wonder if perhaps I was holding back? So today, I really concentrated on my form and pulling with my arms, keeping myself right at the brink of being too tired to continue, yet maintaining a pace that was do-able for the long haul. (I know, 1000 meters isn't really long haul, but today it was!) I attempted to rotate as much as I could while watching that pesky left arm of mine....loves to wander to the outside when it should stick to my side and not cause rotator cuff pain.

I'll have you know I knocked 40 seconds off of my pace! I can usually swim a 100 in 2 minutes and swim forever and ever. Today, I was under that, and I maintained. In fact, I think I did a negative split on the 2nd 500. Yes, I was proud. I had a temperature of 99.3 and my back was aching, but I did it. (no concern about the mini-temp....apparently that is NORMAL for my body and nobody can figure out why....didn't slow me down today, though!) Oh, we'll just ignore the fact that the Masters swimmer next to me managed to lap me close to a million times. But her butt was bigger than mine. ;)

But darn, does Coach always have to be so right?

Uninspired

That's been the general tone of my week. I sign on every night and glance at a few blogs, but mostly just go right to bed. It's been quite a week and it's not even Friday yet. Yikes!

So, the Bonelli Tri was a bit of a train wreck for our team. We've been training in cool weather for nearly a month now, so when it hit 90 degrees on the run course, the Olympians' bodies started to react differently than they ever had in training. After a 1-mile swim and 25 mile bike, they started their 6 mile runs with everything from nausea and cramps to lightheadedness and even dementia! It was crazy. I apparently broke every triathlon rule in the book at this race, but you'll see why in a minute. ANYWAY, I ended up heading out on the run with one of our girls who asked me to stay with her. She's very strong and usually one of the fastest, so I found this odd and agreed. We chatted briefly about her run, and then she started holding her abdomen. I pushed her to run a mile and a half, and then the pain became unbearable. At this point we'd looped around where we could have been back at the start in a 1/2 mile, but she was determined to continue on. I called our coach at mile 3 to see if her symptoms were sounding familiar and if there was anything we could do to improve them. Coach knew instantly after hearing about what my pal drank and ate before the run that she was having some electrolyte deficiencies and that she overdosed on sugars.

It was the longest 6 miles of my life! No kidding. We got passed by almost everyone, and the volunteers had left their water stations. That's why I don't feel so bad about being with her. if this had been severe and she did have a medical emergency out on course, there would have been nobody there to help her. So yes, I "cheated", but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Like we were competitive, ya know?

At any rate, we crossed the finish line. They were all puzzled why I didn't have a chip, but I just walked away with a smile. She showed such courage making it all that way in so much pain-- it was really inspiring.

I suppose I'd take the 90-degree heat to the heat going on at work these days. Today, our company fired on of the head execs and now MY boss is taking over the entire office. It's huge for us, but I'm kind of pissed that he didn't tell me at dinner last night. (I sort of knew this would happen, but still) To top it all off, they shipped me some help, but there's no office space so she is sharing a cubicle with me. She's nice, but she's literally 3 feet in back of me, ALL DAY LONG.

I could kill someone.

Spin class today was the most bizarre experience I've ever had. Short muscle-man was screaming at us to make our lungs ache and our legs burn 15 minutes into class. Seriously, dude, it's a 60-minute class. Are you nuts? Heck no, I'm not blowing myself out so early. The wackjob would also put his index finger in the air and twirl it when he started sprinting....and he did all sorts of crazy positions on the bike that would in no way mimic race riding. I was beside myself just being in the same room as him. It was a joke! We had to spend several minutes at a time recovering from these asinine all-out drills he was trying to do... I ignored him and pushed the highest resistance I could for an hour--- he was not helping me accomplish my training goals. Anyway, I left during stretching and hopped on the treadmill afterwards. 25 minutes in, my knees ached and I decided I probably didn't need to risk going 5 more minutes.... So, that was my workout.

I ate pizza today, too. But that's for my Weightwatchen page. I'll fess up over there.

Photos for Fun

OK, I just had to post two of these because they make me smile.

The first has got to be the best Monday morning e-mail I've ever received:

And secondly, I'm feeling pretty tri happy today and I want to share. I just got back from our morning workout at the beach, where I swam my first ocean mile (seaweed was insanely gross and I looked like swamp thing in the end, but I did it!) and then did a leisurely 3 miles with my new running buddy. I'm still slow in the water compared to where I'd like to be, but it felt so easy that it gives me hope that next year, I'll be all over Oly distance....and then maybe I'll try to see if I can hack a Half IM.

So, to celebrate how good I feel, here's my glamour shot from the triathlon 2 weeks ago. Seriously, I was walking about 10 seconds before, but when I saw him, I slicked the frizz away, picked up the pace, and smirked like a coy Tridiva. Oh, yes, I love this picture.

Week of Excess

You know it's bad when the avid blogger cannot find the time nor motivation to write......

I had a rough eating week. My cavalier attitude about food ("Oh, I can eat that-- I'm a triathlete!") has made me feel like shit, and I'm sure I've gained weight. Hubby was in town, so I skipped 2 days of working out because I felt bad about leaving him. I was so spaced out from stress of hubby and work on Monday that I forgot the start time of our pool swim and missed 1/2 hour of it....and the got lapped by a girl on my timed 500 meter because I was SO OUT OF IT!! I was pissed. And then today, I'm just totally grumpy because work is insane and I'm sick of doing everything for everybody. Last I checked, I wasn't an analyst anymore. Do your own damn underwriting and leave me the heck alone!

Practice tonight was okay, but my swim times are just not improving at all. I'm tired in the water. Yes, my form is better, but this is one instance where good form does not equal free speed. Yes, I was in the fast lane. Except I wouldn't say I was faster than anyone in the 25 meters....I'd just pull away after the turn and then that is when I'd be faster. I'm hoping that I can push the envelope a bit more, but I'm just so frustrated. Coach tried to get me to go faster tonight, too, so I'm disappointed that the speed isn't coming to me faster. The only plus is that I can make it down the length of the pool with about 3 breaths......compared to 4 months ago, when it took every-other stroke. And my timed 100 was around 1:40, which is okay for me. My goal is to get the long slow distance 100 to less than 2 minutes and then try to bring that into my racing. I get so preoccupied with buoys and people when I race that I don't actually swim at my pace!

Ugh. So that's the scoop. Lots of new Divas tonight, and I feel like a total stranger around them. I wish I knew them better, but I missed all the "getting to know you" sessions because I was preparing for Pacific Coast, and our session is relatively short compared to the 12 weeks I did this summer. Maybe we'll bond over the winter during our skills and drills?

Hubby is back in Texas. I miss him, but the cat misses him more. I'm tired!! I feel like I need to sleep for days when he leaves.....it's just go-go-go. He starts the sim tomorrow night, and if it all goes well, his next "gate" is on Sunday. So good thoughts for Sunday so he can make it through. I swear, you guys help!

So, that's the scoop. I thought about journaling today, but I am a little embarassed to fess up to my "2.5 servings of Accelerade for 250 calories and 1 mini Cliff Bar for 100 calories" during my swim. It does appear excessive, but it was an hour workout! I'm definitely heading back over to Weightwatchen soon to get back on track. Once a WWer, always a WWer, even if I'm a triathlete. (And I'm not even that legit--- I'm training for sprint distance and the only time I can invoke the triathlon eating excuse is when I'm doing bricks longer than an hour--- must do those more often!)

Race Days Make Me Hungry

I think I've had 5 or 6 meals today, when all is said and done, thanks to my 4am wakeup! There's something about getting your entire day done by 12pm that seems to make me want to eat my way through the rest of the evening. I can't stop! It's insane.

I suppose I should back up and go into a little detail about my day. I'm afraid my eloquence has been spent for the day, but we shall start with the butt crack of dawn, which seems to be the curse of Triathlons. Just in case you hadn't gathered, I hate getting up early. I'm comatose until 9am, and that is unfortunate for this sprinter, as most races are done by then! At any rate, I was all packed and ready to rock n' roll this morning, so all I did was get dressed, brush my hair, apply sunscreen, make coffee, and then grab my water bottles. The drive to Long Beach was nice and easy, and I found the massive parking lot before 6am. (I'm a little put out by the $8 parking fee, but after living in DC, this wasn't THAT hard of a pill to swallow....I just couldn't believe they had to man the booths so frickin' early)

I met my relay team members outside of transition, where we put on our wristbands and then proceeded to get set up with 30 million other relay team members. Most everyone was racked and ready to go by 6am, but relay athletes appear to be a different breed. They speak my language....sleep in.

So our rack managed to get filled to capacity and beyond by 6:30am, and then the race director gave his schpiel about the water quality. The whole way up on the radio, they were reporting that all the OC beaches and Long Beach waters were closed for swimming....but the race got the health department up and testing on race day, and they decided that although there was lots of debris in the water from yesterday's rains, the bacterial levels were low enough that the swim could go on. Seriously, though....the waves were brown and dead fish were washing up on shore. People, there was POOP IN THE WATER!!! Our swimmer, who is doing a big race next weekend and didn't have her Hepatitis shot, opted not to swim. I didn't blame her at all, nor did I step in and volunteer to get wet. And poopy. So Coach told us that Swimmer would just enter the transition area when the first cap from our wave came in, and we'd proceed to continue with our race and get our times....and then at the end, we'd report to the officials that we didn't swim and were a DNF for the race. (Heck, we paid our money-- we were going to race that course!)

Anyway, the bike was phenomenal. I felt strong out there, and I passed a ton of people. The only people who passed me had race wheels and retard helmets. I loved it! (Not getting passed....passing people) I felt like I was cheating, though, because I only had one leg to complete and everyone else was exhausted from a swim. But I continued on, dodging the path of thrown waterbottles and wayward beginners who were oblivious to road etiquette. I almost took someone out myself, but to my credit, he should have been calling "on your left" when passing so closely and fast uphill! Yes, my bike handling skills could be better....I practically crash through turns.

Anyway, I did the bike in 35:25. Wowza! My bike computer said 38 minutes when I checked it in transition, so I had no idea that I'd actually met my goal. But I was pretty darn proud of myself and that made the race for me....it didn't matter that our team wasn't going to place and that my bike was all for naught....it was a blast.

I think all of my races are going to pale in comparison to Santa Barbara from here on out. It was so well run that I am now SPOILED. Long Beach was even worse than Pacific Coast. I heart Santa Barbara.

I met SixTwoThreeTries today, too, so that was a lot of fun. It's crazy that you aren't so anonymous out there in cyberspace! But she's a good egg, so now I have someone else to cheer for at tris. (She's a heck of a lot faster than I am, though.....she's like uber runner, and I am granny)

So, that was the day. Hubby passed and made it into the sim, but that means we have 3 more tests to go. Sim ride #3, Sim Ride #7, and the FAA Checkride. He is dreading it all, of course, but I have faith. I rode hard for him today, with my rings on and my necklace he gave me for our anniversary. I don't exercise in jewelry, but I needed some good juju for the day. :)

So that was the day. A PR. A DNF. And insatiable hunger coupled with temporary relief. What tomorrow brings? Who knows!

Rain and Harbors

I should be rejoicing because it's finally raining after a summer of drought. The snails are happy. The weather is cooler. But tomorrow morning is the Long Beach Triathlon, and I shudder to think what the water quality is like in Long Beach Harbor!!! Fortunately for me, I'm not the swim anchor in our relay, but it still makes me feel all gross just thinking about what's been swept into the water. :) I guess it's a possibility that they turn tomorrow into a duathlon, which stinks because my two lovely relay partners aren't the fastest runners in the world so there'll be lots of stress on me to put in the best bike ever.

I've been haunted by the results from last year, wondering how in the heck I'm going to bike the 11 miles in 36 minutes. That's not even a competitive time, either.....just slightly better than average. I really need to chill out.

Hubby is home, but leaving in an hour. He has one last shot to make it--- one shot more than 1/2 of his class, who have already been sent home and removed from training. It's a hard time for us, but I know we'll get through this and eventually he'll be sitting in the right seat of a passenger jet. It just might not be in 3 weeks! We had a good visit, though, and I ate like a pig. I tell you what, I certainly have enough excess calories on board to fuel a 36-minute bike leg.

I am lazy, though. I was supposed to go to a brick this morning at the Lake.....a swim-run, or swim-bike, or all three if you were feeling particularly ambitious. I got all ready to go at 7:30am and then just sat at home, thinking about how cold it is out there and how it didn't want to stop raining. I'm now planning on hitting the gym on the way back from the airport, but we'll see where that takes me. Why must I be so tired and lazy?!

So that's the scoop. Not much of it, to be truthful! Good luck to Melanie in her 5K this weekend--- I know she'll have a blast and will be in awe of how easily she did the distance.

The Pest

I thought that after 3 weeks, things were definitely going far too well on the knee front. I'd saved plenty of money by not going to physical therapy 2-3 times a week. I sit in bed and do my inner thigh strengthening exercises every single night. I'm a stretching fiend and make sure not to run more than 2 days a week.

And yet the phantom pains are returning.

The pulling. The weird under-the-kneecap pain. That feeling of "oh crap, I should probably lower my resistance" when I'm biking because I'm trying to "honor" my body.

When does this crap end? I've had it! I'll be lucky to make it to San Diego with this frickin' knee setup that I have.

Went to spinning tonight, because I needed a good 45 minute - 1 hour ride and didn't get out of work early enough to ride outside. I haven't been to class in months, so it was kind of fun to see how improved my fitness is. (And how much sweatier I am in class!) I can push much higher resistance, and I can stay with the instructor the entire time while kicking my own rear. I felt like I owned that class! (OK, until the last song when the knee pulled a little and I decided to spin nice and easy) I have to think that spin class is a good trainer for getting out on the road. Hopefully it's good enough for Long Beach. I'm definitely doing the bike, so today was my last "hard" bike before the relay. Torture is now reserved for the swim, which I'll be working on tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday. Time to devote some time to my non-rotating stroke!

I ate white cake today. My admin had to buy the birthday cake for the office and she went all over time finding white on white --- my favorite. I just couldn't resist! I stayed on program for breakfast and lunch, and even my dinner was responsible.....but I just needed the cake. I figure it was 500 calories, but I burned about 790 in class, so it was a tradeoff I was willing to make.

I was accused of losing weight yesterday. One of the guys at work, who is a cyclist, had lunch with me and asked me how much weight I'd lost since I started training. I told him the truth --- nothing! He proceeded to repeat the question 3 times and then said I was lying. I suppose it should be a compliment. But I'm 151 lbs......and most of it is pretty frickin' solid! Yeah, I have the tummy issues, but it's slowly taking care of itself. So if I'm 151 lbs and people think I weigh less, I'll take it. My size 6's still fit fine....in fact, the pants fit better than ever. I have some trouble with tops, but only in the shoulder and upper back area. It's crazy how everything just readjusts. This is a common trait in our training group, too. Lots of women haven't lost any weight at all, but looking at their June photos vs. now, you'd swear they'd dropped a ton of weight. Muscle weighs as much as fat, but it's more dense......case in point-- my fellow Divas!

Anyway, that's enough of weight for the evening. I'm headed to bed. DH is still having a really rough time in training, so he can use all the good thoughts you can muster!!! (Actually, I need them more than him. I want him to make it through training so desperately.....it kills me! I've been nauseous for 2 whole weeks since he's been teetering on the edge of failure.....please, please send good thoughts here.....I need them!!!) :)

(I also need to delete a few exclamation points, but I felt the need to exaggerate my desperation)

Time to Relax

What a week. I feel like this is the first time in over a week that I've been able to feel rested and relaxed. With the triathlon last Sunday, my sister visiting, the hubby taking all his tests (and passing so far!!), and being sick, it's been a whopper of a week. I was a zombie for much of the week at work, and was totally unable to do any workouts until Thursday. But now?

A - O - K.

Thursday night we had swim drills in the dark. I opted for the longer 1500 meter workout, which wasn't too hard because this is week 2 of our training cycle. Coach lit into me about my lack of body rotation, telling me that I'd sacrificed form for speed. Oops. I guess all this time in the pool with drills, I'd focused entirely on fixing my rotator cuff issues with hip flicks instead of working on the body rotation! This earned me a special invite to a torture session on Monday night. Perhaps I'm on my way to a faster swim?

Friday night, I thought I'd be adventurous and went off on a 3-mile run. The same 3-mile run that I'd done at the start of training in June, except I lopped about 1/2 a mile off of it back in June because I wasn't familiar with the distance at the time. Anyway, at that time, my 2.7 mile run took me 34 minutes, and it was HARD! Very hard. I had to walk pretty frequently, and I felt like vomiting afterwards. On Friday, I set out to be slow. Slow, steady, yet purposeful. Instead of doing 5 minutes of run, 1 minute of walk, I decided to run until I thought I needed a little rest. That took 17 minutes. I walked for one, then ran it the rest of the way in.....doing the entire 3 miles in 29 minutes. This is a pretty good incline, mind you, and I was so proud of myself when I got back! Heart rate was still in the "could run all day" range, and my legs felt strong. I didn't feel sick at all, and got home and went about my business. (icing...that is my business when I run!) So, not too bad after 3 months of training.

This morning, Coach had encouraged me to work out with the Olympians....they were driving out to the course where their race is in 2 weeks to do the 25 mile bike course. She said I definitely had the speed to be at the front of the pack, and she was pretty sure my training would take me the distance. (I'm a sprinter--- 20 miles has been the max I've done so far!) I was seriously going to do that, but they wanted to leave at 5:30am. Yeah, not so agreeable to Miss Sleepy here. My knee was a bit weird, too, so I somehow missed my alarm this morning and ended up heading to Long Beach for a practice with the rest of our team.

7:30 am, we headed out on a 30-minute bike and a 15-minute run. Easy, easy brick. My bike felt great, pushing 20 mph the whole way out, and 19 mph back because I'd gotten a little tired and my knee ached a tiny bit. I caught up with everyone else on the way back and decided to have a casual ride in on the streets with a few of my pals. So in all, I did about 9 miles in 30 minutes, but I'd consider the last 5 minutes to be leisurely at best. We had a lazy transition, then off we went on our quick run. I was with a marathoner who paces really well, so we just chatted the whole way and really enjoyed our run....until Coach caught up and told us to make sure we couldn't talk anymore. So I took off and booked it back to where we'd racked our bikes, ending up doing 1.5 miles in about 12 minutes--- a VERY good pace for me. I was impressed! Anyway, these little improvements are very exciting. I am hoping that by next summer, perhaps I may actually start to get competitive here?

After our practice, we had a tire changing clinic and I totally changed my back tire. Well, not totally. I have trouble getting the wheel back on the bike with the rear derailleur in the way and all that....I'm not mechanically inclined at all and I whined like a baby until the 44-time Ironman came to my rescue. Anyways, suffice it to say that if I do get a flat on course, I may actually be able to change it in the future. I'll just need to cry and beg a man to move the derailleur for me. Hey, I have no shame anymore.

The best part of the day was our guest speaker, Wendy Ingraham! She is a 44-time Iron(wo)man, and has the best sense of humor EVER. She perhaps also has the best ever YouTube clip on the planet....you want to see sheer grit and determination? Behold this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTn1v5TGK_w

I came home in awe and proceeded to watch Ironman videos on YouTube all afternoon. I still have no desire to ever do it, but there's a little devil in my head telling me to go longer....... So rest assured, Olympic-distance, here I come! (Next year)

So, that's the skinny on the triathlon front. There really isn't anything else....I'm addicted, and that has been my life lately. Hubby is hanging in there, and hopefully in 2 weeks I can report back that he is now a first officer! But until then, I'll still be nervous and not open any of his airline mail. Eating-wise, I now don't count points. I've posted no gain since stopping counting, and now I am experimenting with different nutrition to see how it affects my exercising. I'm definitely still following the plan and not overeating, but I know that I have to eat before and after a workout, and I make sure to do that regardless of whether it falls inside or outside of a regular meal time. Today, I had about 6 little meals.....but I feel good, and that is the point. I ate a 250-calorie recovery bar for breakfast/post-workout this morning and didn't feel any guilt-- can you believe that? Anyway, will report back on how this all shakes out over time.

Until then, I'll cease and desist. Buena sera.

Addiction

I don't know what's wrong with me. Can't I let my team go to a race without me? Can't I rest from my little race on Sunday and let the training program peak me right around Subaru?

Nope.

One of our girls put out an e-mail to the group seeing if anyone wanted to do the relay at the Long Beach Triathlon next weekend. Guess who responded within minutes?

Yikes-- it's me. The money I don't have is burning a hole in my pockets. I can't let them race without me! I'm going to do the bike, on a very non-competitive relay team. At first I was a little bummed about this, but in talking to my coach, it's not so bad.....slower teammates means more time on course with our uniforms getting the word out about our group!

Speaking of the group, there was a great article in the OC Register today about one of our girls. The author is sort of anti-Tridivas, but at least we got one mention. I adore Sue, and am so happy she got the spotlight:
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/ohman-triathlon-race-1844272-time-swim

At any rate, that's it from me. Time to sleep and start all over again. Had a crazy hard swim practice tonight that didn't sit well with my cold.....all I want is a little sleep!

Pacific Coast Race Report

So here it is, in gory detail, straight from my training group's race report e-mail:

This race was a big mental challenge for me. It was the reason I'd found Tridivas in the first place (I saw ads for the Pacific Coast Tri and wanted to do it, but knew I needed help), and for some reason I'd built it up to be this horrible monster that would take a herculean effort to overcome. I also had been fighting a losing battle with a cold since the start of the week, and no amount of Emergen C, Zicam, or Pomegranate juice able to hold it off entirely. Martha had given me a predictive time of 1:33:50 that I had questioned and considered a bit lofty. In fact, for this race, I was thinking that anything under 1:40 would make me a happy girl. With the cold, I reassessed my goals, like I love to do, and decided to just get out there and finish.

We met Lisa in Irvine at the insanely early hour of 4:45am, and made it to transition uber early. We racked our bikes, but it was a bit more segregated than Santa Barbara and I was all by my lonesome. I only managed to eat a bagel at 4:30am, and then sipped Vitamin Water for the hours leading up to the swim start. At 7am, they ushered us out of transition and down to the beach for the swim. The Divas got a bit split up here....there were hundreds of people parading down the sand to the swim start, and somehow half of us ended up South of the start "box" and the others were ??? Who knows? But my royal blue Divas were all in one place, so they made fun of me as I ran into the water to pee before the start. (If you saw the lines for the Porta Potties, you would've peed in your wetsuit, too) I was having serious second thoughts out there as I watched the firefighters and elites go off. Why am I putting myself through this? I don't feel too well. I really don't want to be here. I feel sick. Blah blah blah blah blah. Before too long, we were in the box and in the countdown. Here goes nothing! We took off down the beach and I was in the front with the speedy collegiate water polo player, since she wanted to be the first in the water. As soon as I hit the water, I tripped and fell and looked like a total moron. But not caring at this point, I trudged along and managed to get swimming before any waves headed in. The lovely part about starting in the front is that people have to go around you--- you don't have to tread water in no man's land until swimming space comes available. So I'd say compared to Santa Barbara, this swim start was a bit smoother. I didn't settle well, though. The water was COLD this time--- much colder than Santa Barbara-- and I was really lethargic out there. Couldn't find a rhythm, and all I wanted to do was count buoys. The in-head commentary probably wasn't necessary, but somehow it made me feel better to cuss out the buoy in front of me and trash talk the buoys behind me as I passed. Before long, I was catching some slow-moving pale blue caps, and being passed by some speedy pigs in red caps. (You will notice a trend here....men are being substituted with the title "pigs" in my race report, because that is how they behaved on course....I am not implying that all men are pigs, just the ones who acted like them on course yesterday) On my way into shore, I was held up by a line of sad blue caps (pigs, I might add) backstroking and breastroking and forming a formidable barrier to me! I had to swim parallel to the shore for quite a while before I could clear them and get back on course. It seemed crazy to me that these big strong men would resort to this at the end of the swim....Coach, again, was SO RIGHT!

So I made it to shore and was shocked to hear Coach and the spectators cheering as I made my way to Killer Ramp #1. And then there was my sister! I have to admit, I was pretty excited to see that she'd found her way. She said Coach was hard to catch! At any rate, I only took half of my wetsuit off and proceeded to conquer the hill, because to my surprise there was no transition mat before the hill. LOVELY. The flippin' hill was going to be in my transition time. So I headed up, resigning myself to a slow swim coupled with 1.5 minutes of hill walking.....and then I got to the top and not only was there no photographer (I was all primped and ready to smile), but there was no transition mat there, either! What gives? I love racing in T1. Give me my T1!!! Alas, no TI. Had an okay transition, then headed out onto the bike, dripping, hungry, and thirsty. I sucked down half a bottle of my Cytomax concoction on the way down the big hill, then regretted every sip on the way UP the Emerald Cove Hill. Martha said we'd hate it. She was right. (again) I stuck to the right, let everyone pass me, and then breathed a sigh of relief when I hit the turnaround.....but then after a little downhill, there was yet another hill. And then another. And then another. Seriously, it didn't stop. Eventually I pushed higher gears and got into a bit of a rhythm, but it was sort of dangerous out there! These men on their very expensive bikes were little daredevils....passing in between bikes whilst never announcing their presence, weaving like drunk drivers while going down hills slower than you, dropping their water bottles because they'd never practiced before, drafting and riding in groups....well, to say I was a little angry with them is an understatement. Yesterday felt like a crash course in defensive bike driving. Although it probably didn't effect my overall time by too much, it certainly earned their name for the rest of the race as "pigs."

On to the run. Transition was a bit weird because I didn't know where to dismount and slow down. So I didn't, which helped a bit. Coach and Co. and my little sis were there cheering me on as I came in, so that gave me a little energy! I had to push my neighbors' bike to the side to make room for mine when I returned, but otherwise T2 (or shall I say, the ONLY transition that counted) was a quick one. My legs were like bricks on the way out of transition, but that was my fault for trying to be She-Ra on the bike. (Hey, Jill told me to! :)) I managed to run four minutes out before needing my first walk break, so that wasn't so bad for me. One by one, I started picking off pigs as I WALKED. Seriously, they were like ants that had been sprayed with Raid. I don't know what the deal was, but the light blue caps had over-done it and were dying out on the run course. This made me feel better about life, so I returned to my run/walk strategy and pushed on. I'm going to leave out the part about me choking on the Cytomax coming back up to torture me, as that didn't really effect anything but my head....but suffice it to say my nutrition plan was a bit faulty for this race.

Aside from the site of pigs peeing on course, the run was gorgeous. So, so beautiful and actually pretty fun! I found my rhythm, and got a second wind through the little cottages when an unknown lady started cheering "Go Tridiva! You are doing great!" What fun! Total strangers cheering me on in the strangest of places. The beach run was awesome. Cool breeze, soft on the knees, and there was no more jockying for position on crowded streets and trails. I had no idea where the ramp was, but thankfully had a few people in front of me that paved the way. I managed to do an entire mile down there without stopping, so I let myself walk up the ramp. There were coaches scattered on the ramp telling us that it wasn't that far and that we were making great time, so that motivated me to attempt to run it the rest of the way in. Two little boys splashed me with some water at the water station at the top, and that got me to Martha, who was there with her blue lei and smile! I felt strong, shockingly enough, and hoofed it in. I had no idea what my time was, but I sprinted down the finish chute and it was done. I was SO happy with myself for finishing, and when I looked at my watch (1:34 and change), I wasn't too far off from Coach's predictive time! Not too bad for feeling like crud....and I actually enjoyed the run, which never happens. Ended up in the top half of my age group, out of 40, but not by too many--- my age group was full of speedy robots!

As usual, the best part of the race was watching the other Tridivas come in and finish. I LOVE the finish line. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and happy.....and everyone made it from our group. We're just so lucky to be out there and to have such an amazing support group on course. Everywhere you turn, you hear "go Diva!" Truly, an amazing feeling. A good race in a fantastic venue....and of course, I'm still addicted! Bring on Subaru -- October 14th!