mememememememe!!!

There are some things about me that most people don't know...and that you lucky readers now have the pleasure of learning.

 - When I am sick, I sometimes feel high. And I swear my IQ drops more than a few digits. Seriously. And it's not because I take drugs. I don't. I'm far too sensitive. One dose of antihistimine and I won't shit for three days. On occasion, I'll throw back a Tylenol or Aleve, but it's rare. Back to being stupid...I have very little concentration. I can't speak correctly, and this post will likely be full of grammatical errors.

 - I do not like to participate in others' drama. I don't really appreciate that someone posted anonymously on Judi's blog and brought me up in it. Seriously, wtf? (and i'm still trying to figure out who I know well enough that doesn't know how to spell "you're"). Also associated with this same point of other peoples drama, I've been disconnected with my bff. And I'm super sad. I feel like I've lost a limb.

 - I look for a meaning in almost everything. I mean, I heard "Joey" by Concrete Blonde the last two evenings on the radio, and I'm wondering if there's a Joey that I need to not be angry with anymore? And I usually don't taper well, but being sick is forcing me to taper for Saturday...so maybe it's not such a bad thing?



 - I am not very tidy. I vacuumed this evening and found four bobbypins and a lottery ticket from at least two months ago. But I do try to hang my clothes on a fairly regular basis. Though anyone who really knows me would probably refute this last statement.

 - Man, I love me some cereal. And I eat it dry. By the handful. A box purchsed will be consumed wholly within the week.

 - I really love my dog. Really. And some dude came into the shop the other day, saw Clubber, asked if she was mine, and when I said yes, he picked her up and said "of course she is! She's obviously a girl's dog" and then continued "no man would tolerate a dog like this". Umm....really? Everything that came out of his mouth after went in one ear and right out the other...until he asked me if a wetsuit was a "cold weather biking suit". Thanks to those of you on FB who recommended amazing comebacks to that. I wish I had thought quicker. But see my first point.

 - I have a very skewed perception of "fun". I mean, it's gonna be in the high 20s, low 30s for this trail marathon on Saturday, and I am looking forward to it like a kid waiting for Santa. And now that I'm rested, I'm soooo looking forward to full fledged training. And getting back into the weight room.

 - I have an uncanny ability of letting people justcloseenough to me before I get completely and totally terrified and back away. Like. you. wouldn't. believe. AND I justify it. SO, any of you out there to whom I've done this, you're reading it now: it's not you. It's me. But, strangely, those who get past this hiccup tend to be monumental forces in my life. And then end up leaving my ass. (hence my instinct to flee first) ho hum.

 - I've got a dream. And I think I'm gonna go after it. Now. Ya know, that I'm 30 and I've got nothing else.

'Tis the Season!

for trainer rides, that is. It's getting light so much later. And there's a chill in the air. In an effort to maximize training time, between work and (other) play, this is how my mornings are shaping up, ya know, when I'm not swimming a couple miles before the sun rises...

 And I'd forgotten how much I sweat on the trainer! sheesh.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Myrtle Beach for Halfmax Championships, which serve as the Long-Course 2011 World Qualifiers. By Sunday, I should be reporting whether I'm part of Team USA.

And that kinda scares the shit out of me. I haven't really been nervous about racing this year. And the pressure is self-induced, but I guess I have something to prove. to myself. So I'm hoping the hard work pays off. For the next couple days, I'll be resting and hydrating and race prepping!

big weekend

Spent another night dripping sweat on the trainer last night. Got up for a run this morning. It was crazy foggy.
I noticed i had droplets of water all over my face. But it wasn't really sweat. More like condensation. It was 43 degrees. When I got home, I even had little pearls of water on my lashes. Weird.

Anyway, tomorrow is the first time trial of the season. 40k. And it will be preceeded by a lengthy run (of which 5 miles is a race). Let's hope it stays dry!

And now, what you've all been waiting for...

Pre race:

The night before the race, we had a Team USA dinner. I think we all got chills when the team manager gave us the "you are representing the United States of America" speech. Very cool.

Race morning, I actually slept 'til 4am. I'd been getting up automatically at 3, so the extra hour was weird. I ate and had coffee and went to the bathroom and all that pre-race stuff. And then I began to panic. ITU has strict uniform rules and I could've sworn I'd seen something about the logos for wetsuits...I wanted to wear my sleeveless, but it's a Zoot and literally has a tramp stamp and all these swirly things on it, so I rushed over to the host hotel to question the team manager...and ran into the bike mechanic and chiropractor. They're both zen like, and were just like "well, if we see Tim, we'll ask him for you".

I found him, and to my relief, there are no regulations on wetsuits. I hadn't worn mine in months, so squeezing into it was, um...interesting. Dad and his buddy, Gary, met me down at transition before the race. I typically don't get nervous before races, but this one was different.

The Swim:
My wave was set to go off at 8:13. It was just the second non-elite wave. And it conatined all women 18-34 and 50+. I did a little warm-up run and went down to the water with my cap and goggles, handed off the flip flops to dad and got herded into the corral! This is where we got the warning of the wind. There were white caps in the water. Severe chop. We were warned that if we had a disk wheel on the bike to be VERY careful because the elites were having some issues on the the overpass with the cross winds.

We all waded/swam out to the start. Apparently, the officials blew the horn three times before we actually went. And even then, I'm not sure anyone heard it, but we saw the next wave coming into the water, so we went.

And it was cold! And rough. Although it was a river swim, it was salt water because the river dumps into the ocean not far away. Many of the girls were intimidated by the distance of the swim. This was not a HIM. It was a 2x Olympic race. That means a 3k swim. That didn't bother me. Neither did the jelly fish. Or the salt water. Or the waves and the chop. It was the other girls. The clawing and the kicking and the punching. I never like that part, so I tried to just keep my position and be just as rough without purposely hurting anyone.

The swim upstream was long. Stroke after stroke. Bobbing up and down with the waves, trying to sight and just looking for other blue caps, taking in gulps of sea water, brushing up against jelly fish. It was rough going, but soon, the turn around was in sight. So many times I've been to that point in the swim...you know the shortest part of your day is nearly over. And you know that soon, you'll be upright, riding that bike...but for now, it's time to power home on the swim.

The age group waves were beginning to blend together. We were catching those in front of us and a few from behind were passing us. That trek back to shore was refreshing. My feet were cold, but I felt as though the most difficult part of the day was over. Riding and running wouldn't be so bad after all that....

One last day...

..of work, that is.

Tomorrow morning, it's time to head down to Louisville for packet pick-up and a little practice swim in the Ohio. Beautiful!

Now, it's time to make the list. Ya know, the list of all the possible things i need to bring to make this a successful trip. It's insane the stuff I pack. Even in high school, I was the girl who would have *insert some random thing* when it couldn't be found in coach's bag. Included in my packing is always: a sharpie, spare roll of TP, tape, band-aids, camera, advil, extra socks, flip flops, food, gum, extra underwear (because there was this time i peed my pants at a CC race...and it wasn't on purpose), water bottles....you get the picture. I just want to be prepared.

Saturday is bike and gear bag check.

And then, Sunday... (gulp!)

I am feeling ready though. My emotions got all fired up yesterday over some fraudulent charges on a credit card...grrr...but it totally awakened my senses. My massage yesterday loosened my muscled just enough. No soreness and got through my bike feeling uber strong last night. And I'm still sleeping like a rock. For hours on end.

The greatest part of all this prep and taper the last week or so are the words of encouragement from other bloggers and athletes. You guys are amazing!!! Thank you all for your support.