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!

Getting ready to try again

So, I'm sitting here fighting a cold and awaiting the arrival of my sister into Orange County. I'm just back from Expo and packet pick-up, armed with all sorts of goodies that only a burgeoning tri geek like myself would really appreciate. I even picked up a cute t-shirt that says, "I swim, bike, and run like a girl." Hehehe!

Anyway, tomorrow morning is the big race, except now that I'm sick I'm reassessing my goals. The San Diego race will have to be the real "A" race for me, as I'm not sure I'll be able to go out there tomorrow and throw out my best times. We walked the beach today, which is part of the course, and it was just so beautiful. So when I feel exhausted, snotty, and out of everything on my run tomorrow morning, I'm just going to take a deep breath and be thankful that I am able to participate in an event at such a gorgeous venue. After all, it was the venue itself that got me into this training program.

So, my thoughts tomorrow will also be on all those out there competing in Ironman Wisconsin. They are all amazing, and I can't wait to get back tomorrow and track all my favorite bloggers' progress!

Who is Jodi and how to I get back on the Weightwatchen blog reader?

I think that's all I wanted to ask. I fell off the reader, and I want back on!

Nothing new today. Went on a really nice bike ride and had a blast. If it weren't taper week, I had a lot left in me.

Over and out.

New Sensation

When faced with troubling, stressful, life-altering news, I no longer want to eat. No, I am nauseous. Instead, I want to go for a long bike ride. A run. Or perhaps, go for a swim.

I'd do all those, except I can't stop crying.

DH failed his exam today. Most airlines send you packing if you fail a test, but this one thankfully gives you a second chance. Next Wednesday, after goes through more training with the group.

At this point, I don't know why he failed, and why he didn't work harder to make sure this didn't happen. This is OUR life he's potentially screwing up by not passing. He's smart, I know it. Why didn't he make sure he was prepared? Why didn't he stay up every night? Why did he insist on coming home for 4 whole days when quite clearly they gave them to him to study? Why did I allow it?

I'm upset that I am even doubting him at this point. He's doubting himself, and that just gets me....mostly because I can't relate. I NEVER say I can't do something. In fact, when I set my sights on it, it's happening. So it boggles my mind to hear him say "I don't think I can do it." How in the hell can I support him when I hear these words? I just don't know what to do. I can't do anything for him. I'm supposed to be supportive, but I want to scream at him for failing. Shake him violently. Tell him that he ruined my day and he's putting our future in jeopardy. Tell him to get his ASS IN GEAR and study!

I need the strength to be kind and supportive, two things I apparently am not.

And these f*cking ants. I hate them. They are everywhere, but not in large enough quantities where I can actually find where they are. And I have no idea what they are after--- they are in my bathroom, in my closet (ant on my suit this morning when I got out of the car-- I freaking had a meltdown), on my computer desk, on the floor in my computer room. But not in the flipping kitchen where there's actually food. I hate ants!!!!!!

There's no good news to report, either.

Wipeout

I am so happy to be writing this right now.

Call me melodramatic, but I had a close call this afternoon at practice! We met at Crystal Cove, the site of the triathlon this Sunday, so that we could familiarize ourself with the swim and the run course. The surf was pretty choppy, possibly because of the hurricane down south, and the waves were pretty darn huge. In fact, this was the worst I've swam in so far, and I really thought 2 weeks ago at Corona del Mar was as bad as it gets. We were all frightened, so we buddied up and took it slow on our 1/2 mile journey. If you want to call it a day out there, tough! There's a reef, and it only breaks away after a half mile....so you basically have no choice but to swim it once you are out there. Anyway, we survived the swim and turned to come in. I was looking over my shoulders at the waves coming at me, trying to make sure I wouldn't get hit by one. Rode one a little bit, ducked another, and then.....I got nailed. Damn thing was twice my size and broke right on top of me. I saw it coming, but I just froze. It pushed me forward and down, then backwards, and then kept pushing me down while trying to tumble me every which way. When I didn't think I could possibly hold my breathe anymore, I put my feet down and stood up. (Yeah, can you believe I was that close and had no idea?) Scared the CRAP out of me! I walked out of the water in a daze, not caring that we were being timed and that for once, I wasn't the first group out. 1/2 mile in 16 minutes....slow as flippin' molasses! But I guess between the cussing on my way out, the stopping and talking about seaweed and waves throughout the swim, breastroking on the way in because I didn't want to see the reef below, or getting my rear handed to me by a wave....well, it could've been worse.

Crystal Cove has these huge, steep ramps that go from the parking lots to the beach. Pure HELL to walk up, let alone run. I decided to time my walk, as I don't expect that I'll be running up it on race day. 1.5 minutes up. Hey, could be worse! If I tack my transition from Santa Barbara onto that, I'm looking at a 4 minute transition. That means I need a 15 minute swim, 44 minute bike, and 30 minute run (plus 2 minute transition 2) for 1:35. That is my lofty goal time for this race. With the ramps, I'll be lucky to make that run at the end. I looked at my age group from last year, and those robots were so fast in the run that a 30 minute run will put me 2nd to last!!! Holy cow. 7-minute milers, most of them. Mind you, most can't swim for shit, but still......it's funny how they creep back after the swim and kick your rear in the end. So unjust. :)

Anyway, to finish up our swim, we went up the ramps, changed in our cars, and then ran for 30 minutes. I met up with a few girls and we did a slow run through the trail, which was pretty darn flat. I actually didn't mind the run, but I usually don't after swimming. It's my favorite brick and the only time I enjoy running. Who knows?!

So Sunday is race day. I am carpooling with a girl I sort of know.....I think we get along well, so it'll be fun to have the pre-race jitters together. Packet pickup is Saturday, so I'm going to go just so I can have a full weekend of triathlon. The race is in my backyard, after all!

Why does work have to get in the way of triathlon? Shoot, I'm only doing sprints and already complaining about this!

I guess that's it. I'm going to go over to Weightwatchen now and shut down for a while. I can't keep up with two blogs, and I'm not exactly trying to lose weight. I don't think I have anything to add in the food category these days!

What have you done today to make you feel proud

I love the Biggest Loser! Apparently it is on tonight, so I'm furiously typing away so I can be ready for it. :)

Actually, I just like the song. I should download it.

Ah, back alone again. Took Cheeto to the shop (sorry, girls...Tang sounds way too cool for my clunker of an entry level road bike....the way it slips chains, it really isn't cool) tonight for a tune-up, then hit the gym pool. Saw Rex, but he was 3 lanes over and decided to just stare instead of talk. Hehehe.... It's taper week, so I did an easy 1400. It was easy! I'm still in shock about this, because three months ago I was beaming with pride over making it 500 meters continuously in the pool. (In fact, for my first triathlon I only actually managed 300 meters or so of freestyle and had to breastroke the rest of it) Now, I feel like I am pretty darn competent. It's shocking.

Food-wise, I'm recovering from the salty, fatty weekend. I did come home today and eat a regular bagel for lunch, but it fit in just fine points-wise, and I think I was craving it! So no harm, no foul. Just trying not to eat anything new this week and to fight DH's cold he tried to give me....must be in tip top shape for Sunday.

With that, I'm off to watch my favorite show. Fall TV is back, ladies and gentlemen. Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout!

A quake and a workout

I just sat through my very first earthquake about forty five minutes ago! It was a bit bizarre, really, and I didn't realize until it was over that it was actually a quake. A 4.7, too....not too shabby for my first. Hubby and I are still laughing about the cat. He's the only one that took action-- he was frozen in the doorway while we were just sitting at our computers wondering what the heck was going on!

I'm whooped right now, though. 7am practice with the Olympians was definitely a challenge! I had never done more than 16 miles on my bike at any one time (I'm a sprinter-- what's the point?!), so this 20 miles of hills was a bit of a step up. I ended up doing 5 sets of hill repeats in about an hour and twenty minutes, and I felt like that gave me a pretty good cardiovascular workout. I'm still at the point where my cardiovascular fitness gives out before my lactic acid threshhold. Coach says this is good because it'll help prevent injury, but it certainly stinks for me. I chased the two hotshot Olympians up the hills for 3 sets of repeats, and on the 4th, one of the girls waited behind for me and said she felt like pushing me a little. (Lucky me! I was only close because I go fast on the downhill and she is a little mediocre....but she can climb with the best of them) OMG, it was the most painful 8 minutes of my life. She pushed, pushed, pushed....and I pushed myself to go past more pain than I though I could endure. In fact, after that hill with her, every gear I tried seemed easy! For her, it was a total mercy ride, but I needed that kick in the pants. (Coach was yelling at her not to injure me, but I'm pretty tough)

My run was okay, I suppose. I kept pace with the Oly girls for the first 1/2 mile, then I hit my pre-planned walk time and watched them take off. I told them I was no better than a 10-minute mile, but apparently I'm really a 9-minute miler when I don't walk. Alas, I need my one minute of walk every five minutes or else I can't go my 3 miles!

So, total workout time was 1 hour and 53 minutes. I was drenched in sweat, and had goosebumps all over because it was already 90 degrees by the time we finished up at 9am. Yowzah! According to my workout journal, that burned about 1300 calories. Before we get too impressed here, I did consume a bizarre concoction of Mountain Blast Powerade and lemon lime Cytomax that probably added 400 calories during my ride....but I definitely needed the electrolyte and fluid replacement. Can't say I can get into the salt tab thing, but I may experiment with it as my training progresses. 2 hour workouts aren't my norm, that's for sure. I'm a Sprinter, after all!

It was decided that my bike needs a name. I've considered this before, but reading other Triathlon blogs makes me feel like I need something more creative....with names out there like "the Dyke Bike," "Bitchie," and "Buttah," surely my flaming orange creature should have something equally fitting. It's definitely a male bike. And it can't have anything flashy, because it's an entry level bike and it's real crap at shifting. So I have a few things floating in my head: The Cheeto, The Orange Dodo (nobody likes this, but the bike reminds me of a goose or weird bird)..... OK, I like The Cheeto. Any objections?

Off to catch a movie. Hopefully that's the end of earthquakes for today. (And workouts) I'm done with both!

Naughty Weekend

OMG, it's just 9am on Saturday morning and already I have sinned.

Well, not that way. I'm married. That's not sinning.

I took cake home from work for hubby's return, but instead of saving it for him, I ATE IT FOR DINNER! Good grief. I then had an In and Out burger, which was after my soft taco lunch with the boss. And then I took the day off, so nothing got burned off. It just went straight to the fat stores.

What is up with that?

Don't answer. I'm getting a grip RIGHT now, and will regulate the rest of the weekend. Only Golden Spoon for me, because I'm gonna be a good girl.

And you know who got the exclusive invitation to join the Olympians (the girls who've been training for the Olympic distance tri since this spring) for their brick workout tomorrow morning at 7am before the sprinters? Oh, that would be ME! Woohoo!! Part of me is proud, but the other part feels like I won the lottery because I won't have to run at 10am in the heat.....I should be done by 9. Frickin' score. (Well, the 20 miles of hill repeats isn't very fun, but I'll survive....and I'm limiting the run to 3 miles afterwards)

So, this might be it for posting until Tuesday, but stranger things have happened. Like eating all that cake out of the blue. Aye aye aye.