Well, I am officially a triathlete.

The tri ROCKED – not so much in a "wow, I had a great race" way, because I didn’t finish fast or have the best race day luck – but the seconds between "I’m never doing this again" and "just kidding. I LOVED it" were about 2.5.

So. Quick "highlights".

I got kicked in the face about a minute into the swim. Not good. Goggles came off and filled with water. I panicked a little, but it took a good 2 or 3 minutes off my swim time. I suppose there are suggestions like Don’t Start In the Front of Your Wave If YOU CANNOT SWIM, but this lady paid no mind to that. *sigh* Anyway, I’m a little diappointed in my swim performance because hell, that’s my best event!

I stopped during the bike to help a lady with a popped chain. She was crying at the side of the road, totally in a panic, and no volunteers were around to help. So I did. That felt pretty good.

Rob was able to come. I was so happy about that. He was fantastic race support crew. Just fantastic, amazing, and wonderful.

I saw Dianna, Joan, and Mary at the finish line and I bawled like a baby. Bawled, I tell you!

Dianna finished in the top 200. Holy freakin’ crap!!!! I, on the other hand, finished well below that. :)

But, I did manage to accomplish all my goals, which were:

- Finish

- Have a great time

- Finish under 2 hours (1:59:35)

Okay, now it’s time for a popsicle and a nap.

Thanks so much for all your well wishes. And Jeff, oh my god. Just… outstanding! Thank you!!!!!

Okay, so, I’ve been having a little trouble posting lately. This is mostly because I am all tweaked about the tri – wound up, so to speak – and I haven’t felt like getting my nervous energy out here, on the site, has been at all helpful.

Instead, I’ve been meditating, eating well, and finishing up my last week of training. Going out for a beer (one, that is ONE beer, can you believe it?) with some running friends last night helped, too.

Talked to Dianna today and we’re meeting at the packet pickup tomorrow at 10am. Then… ?

Tri’s on Sunday. Wish us luck, and I’ll be sure to post a full race report. :)

I waited until 8:15 pm last night to run… and it was still 84F and crazy humid, so I opted for the dreadmill instead. 45:00 run – done.

I had a great run, actually. My mind was pretty clear and I wasn’t thinking about how much I hate the mill or how much longer I had to be on it, which is my usual M.O. Sometimes, to combat the boredom, I count off songs – I say "okay, I am going to run for 14 songs today" or whatever, and then just count them off. Yesterday I just said, whatever. When you’re done, you’re done.

Then I came home and whipped up a little concoction that rocked! It’s a salad with brown rice, broccoli slaw, and baked tofu… and other stuff, mostly from Trader Joe’s.

2c cooked brown rice, cooled
1 package of broccoli slaw mix
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 package WhiteWave baked tofu, Italian flavor, cubed
1/3c (or more) Trader Joe’s Ginger Lemon Sesame dressing *
1T toasted sunflower  seeds

* You could make your own dressing easily enough. I think it’s just ground ginger, garlic, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and lemon juice.

Seriously, this is delicious. Very, very delicious. And easy. I have leftovers for lunch, too.

Tonight I think I’ll ride my bike before it gets dark, but probably after 7pm when it’s not as hot. Maybe an hour ride? I am still in serious love with my bike, and getting more and more comfortable riding in traffic, such as it is. I mean, I am still staying on less traveled roads when riding alone, but I don’t feel panic every time I have to make a left turn and all that.  Practice, practice. :)

One of the things that Jeff and Mark’s comments made me think about – after I was done laughing, that is (seriously, you guys are funny) – was how much sugar I have been eating lately.

I mean, I know it’s summer and ice cream is in abundance, but seriously people, I have been on a dangerous sugar buzz for the last 8 weeks, and there is no other reason for it other than I have been lazy, and not had the kind of food in the house that I want to eat. Does that make sense? I am definitely one of those people who will eat substitute bad stuff in abundance if I can’t have what I want. It’s stupid, and I hate that, but it’s true.

It all became sort of clear yesterday when I spent an hour asleep on the couch after I had some lemon sorbet and a cup of chocolate soy milk.  This is not good.

I think I am going to try to lay off the sugar this week and see how it goes. Fruit will be okay so I’ll leave that in, but damn, this junky nonsense has got to stop.

This past week has been a blur. Did some running, some biking, and another brick on Friday. I have been feeling nauseous and stuff, and getting a lot of migraines, too. I think I’m probably dehydrated, or something. These last 7 weekends have been all about working on the kitchen, which
is almost done. You can see photos before and in progress here if you want. We just have to put the hardware on and we are done. 

Anyway. It’s the final week! I’m super excited, nervous, and tired. This project, and the job change, have really screwed with my training. Still, I think it will be okay. I know I can finish, and that is the important thing. Dianna will rock it in under 2 hours, I’m sure. :)

I’ll get my 45:00 in today and beyond that, I have 2 short runs and a swim scheduled for this week. That’s it!

I only have a few moments, but…

Friday’s brick went really well. I biked 11 and ran 2, and felt pretty good, considering that I got a late start and it was 85F when I finished.

Good things: Nice ride, overall. Rolling hills, one semi-big hill, little traffic. Better cadence and bike handling. Run was slow and hot, but not that bad (because of slowness). Felt a sense of accomplishment. Had fun.

Bad things: It’s time for a bike check-up. Front derailleur was being tricky (I think my cables have all stretched out), going from smaller to bigger rings. I lost 6 lbs of water and replenishing throughout the day was a pain. I was tired all day. My back was covered in salt afterwards, little hard mounds of salt mixed with sunscreen. Ick.

On Saturday, Rob’s parents came up so his dad could help install the countertop and sink, and hook the plumbing and disposal back up. He brought me this amazing drafting table for my studio, which he made himself long ago, and it rules. The kitchen is coming along.

Or it was, until Sears decided not to deliver my appliances yesterday. They called on Saturday with a delivery time: 4:15 – 6:15 pm. Uh, okay. Then at 5pm, they called to say the deliveries were running late, and they’d be there sometime after 7. Uh, again, okay. By 10:30, they still hadn’t shown up. No phone call. Nothing. So I went to bed. Called them this morning, and they are coming on Wednesday instead, and sending me a $25 gift card for the inconvenience. A phone call last night would have sufficed, but I’ll take the gift card, thanks.

I did manage to get my bike in for its check-up. It’ll be ready in a few days. :)

It’s about 11pm and I’m almost ready to go to bed. I’ve been up later than usual, what with the TdF on and all. This week has been great. Spinning Monday, decent run on Tuesday, great studio meeting yesterday, and today was a faster-than-normal 2200 yard swim. Wow.

Tomorrow I’m going to attempt another brick. I’m feeling pretty confident, actually looking forward to it, but holy hell, I’m pooped.

Still, I can’t get over the feelings of joy I experienced in the pool today. I just love to swim is all. It is, by far, my favorite of the three sports. There is something magical, I think, about being in the water, moving in a rhythm that takes over your whole body. And there is a full sensory aspect to it, too. There’s the feeling of being slippery in the water, the sound of exhaling under it, the constant of the line at the bottom, the notching off of 50 after 50. You’re not watching the clock, or listening to music, or thinking about anything, really.

And now I’m sitting here, spent, smelling like chlorine and shampoo, with a full belly of apple, peanut butter, and chocoalte milk… and right at this moment, I could not be happier.

I’ll start this post out with some personal info. Yesterday, I actually went to work sans-bra. Yes, I did. No lie. I was so sunburned on my back that I couldn’t wear anything besides a soft t-shirt next to my skin. I put a light cardigan over the t-shirt, so I don’t think anyone noticed, but that did mean I had to answer questions like "aren’t you hot" all day long. Still, I was uncomfortable and self conscious all day.

Today is much, much better, thankfully.

Spinning was at 6:30 last night, and the class was small. There were only a few of us, plus Jeff, the instructor. I clipped in and rocked the class hard, really focusing on my breathing. When I got home I looked at my schedule for the week.

I need to focus for the next 3 weeks and not miss any workouts. Luckily, as a part of this company acquisition, I have to take my 2 personal days before the end of the month (use or lose, as they say), so that gives me extra time to get things done and workout on the next 2 Wednesdays.  I’d like to get out to Webster again on Friday and ride and run the course. I figure that if I have to do bricks anyway, I might as well do one there, just to build up my confidence on the big-ass hill.

Food-wise, I’ve been doing pretty well, and when my countertop goes in this weekend, along with the new appliances, I will be stoked. In the interim, I’m grazing more than I am eating real meals. Like last night, for example. I had some imitation crab, a handful  of strawberries, a salad, and then some popcorn. It was perfect! You have your protein, your fruit, veggies, good fats, and whole grains. It also took a long time to eat, so I didn’t feel the need to have a snack later, before bedtime. Also, there are no cookies in the house, which is very conducive to healthy eating. I think all I have in the way of dessert is lemon sorbet.

Rob and I have been talking about how awesome it will be when he moves in and we get the kitchen done. We can have real meals, make fish and veggies, and have a real sink to wash dishes in or use the dishwasher. Man, small pleasures, huh?

Dianna and took a spin around the tri course today. I drove down and she
drove up, and we met at Lake
Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg at 9am. After a bout of stomach sickness yesterday, I wasn’t feeling too
hot, but we rode down to the beach to check it out, hit the bathrooms
and then we were good to go.

The bike course was beautiful – just
lovely, really, and super scenic – but holy hell, that hill at mile 4
was a killer. I actually had to WALK up part of the damn thing, mostly
because I accidentally shifted into my big ring part way up. Duh.
Anyway, after the ginormous  hill, we were rewarded with an equally
ginormous downhill, and rolling terrain thereafter. I am going to go back next Saturday and ride the course again, no walking this time. And if I fuck up my gearing, I’ll ride back down and try again.

Anyway, we walked the run portion of the course. My stomach and hamstrings weren’t cooperating (and I felt bad holding Dianna back but she stayed with me), but meh.

After that, we went down to the beach and swam a little. And you know? I was slightly freaked out. I’m usually fine in open water, but there was a lot of plant life rising up and damn, it spooked me a little. After about 10 minutes I was fine, but ick. Ick, I tell you.

So now I’m home, fed, hydrated, and a little sunburned. It was a good day, but I have some real work to do before the 31st.

Yesterday was interesting, to say the least. Mid-afternoon, we were called to a company meeting where we were informed that our company had been acquired. So far, it seems like a good thing, in that there are no plans for layoffs. Quite the opposite, really.

Still, I can’t help but feel… not misled, because obviously they’re not going to tell me during the hiring process that they’re in negotiations to be acquired… but it’s more like a feeling of upheaval.

I have to email my resume to my VP and see how I map to their salary ranges and titles, and, as it is a much larger company (not hard to figure out if you do a search for Cambridge software companies acquired yesterday), we lose some benefits and gain others. The big question for me is what happens to my hard-won 4 day work week?

*sigh*