And Now it's Over... sigh

What a great time! I enjoyed it, most of the time. During the run I had my doubts for a little while. We got there and it seemed like it would never start. With 400 people starting in 3 second intervals, it's a long time til the start if you're in the last swim group. But then suddenly the line was moving and before I knew it, I was standing on the beach waiting for the official to say go. I didn't really know what to do, so I took off high stepping through the water. All I could think was, "ok, wow, you're really doing this." Despite all those swim lessons, in the end, I swaned the whole course. "The Swan" was what Joey had nicknamed my swim technique whereby I elongated my neck to keep my head out of the water, much like a swan. Everyone around me was swanning, so I figured I would just do it to. I didn't really get passed by anyone, and I wasn't getting left behind, so it didn't seem like such a bad idea.

Before I knew it, the swim was over. The transition could have gone better, but it could have gone a lot worse. I could not get my top on with my wet skin. I did 10 minutes faster on the bike though than I'd planned, so it more than made up for the extra minute of fumbling with my top. AND, someone knocked my bike over on my helmet, and you're not allowed to touch your bike without your helmet on.... a dilemma to be sure.

The run was where I really started to feel tired. With the wave start, it was late by the time I got to the run, and the sun was brutal. I was soooo thankful I had bought a hat the night before.

In the end, I still don't know how I did within my group, but my time was better than I expected. 1:05:53. First place was 1:01:48. So I was not too far off the mark for a newbie!

And of course, the final tally for a day of fun in the sun comes to: $650.85. I do believe it was worth it.

It's HERE!!!!!

It's 5 AM. I'm in the hotel business center. Of course I still have ten minutes to sleep, but who can sleep? I've been up since 4:30. I actually got more sleep than I figured I might. I think I maanged to go to bed around 10:30.

Last night we went to the open swim and the beginners meeting. I thought the water would be really cold. It wasn't as bad as I thought. It had been in the sun all day though. The worst part is definitely not being able to see. I was warned. It wasn't what I expected though. I guess I was picturing hazy scenes like they show you in movies when people are underwater looking for buried treasure. But actually, it's just green. Very green. All you see is green. One woman said it was like swimming in pea soup. I concur. Another woman kind of freaked out I guess over it. She didn't care for the green and it really got to her and she said she had to kind of take a moment to calm herself down. Hopefully my non-panic will power me past some of those people, because my raw swimming ability isn't going to do it.

I'm nervous. Of course I take antacids every morning for the calcium, but I never take them on trips. What a day to be without them! The day I need them for more than their liming ability.

I guess since I have to be up in 3 minutes I should get moving on today. I can do this. Pea soup water here I come. But I have to be honest - if I run into a pea, I might just lose it.

Tapering

It's taper week. Today is was pouring, so we cycled inside instead of doing our planned run. Tomorrow we're sleeping in so we can rest up for the last swim lesson before the big day. This leaves Wednesday for running. After that it's all she wrote.

I have extremely mixed emotions about Saturday. It's exciting that it's almost here, but it's scary because I worry about being ready. It will be a relief to be through, but also sad because we've trained for this day for 12 weeks and then it will just be over.

I am looking forward to lifting the cookie moratorium, but also scared about maintaining control. I wonder if I should even start. It's also a very scary thing.

4 more days. Then it's here. Yikes!

Final Clothing Preparations

I have put this off too long, but with a week to go, it's time to make sure my intended choices will work. We tried out the tri shorts on Monday, but I still need to try out the top. I decided to go ahead and get a bra to go under it for extra support. I was mostly worried about finding something that dried quickly. I decided to go with the Nike DryFit line after looking at lots of bras and finding them to either be lacking in support, too cottony, or too padded (talk about holding onto some water). I also decided to get something to wear over the tri top in case I experienced chaffing or chill once I came out of the water and tried riding and running in a wet top. I debated the options and finally decided on the UnderArmour heat gear. They sure do run small! I usually wear a M t-shirt; had to buy an XL in the UA!

Of course that needs added to the total. I'll be happy to get this over with so I can stop spending so much money! With my two purchases, totaling $50.71, the new total is: $607.70. I figured I'd eventually break the $600 mark. Good thing there's only a week left!

I also decided while I was wearing the outfit, and taking pictures, to take an "after" pic to see if there was any discernible different. I'm not convinced.

Two Weeks to Go!

Wow. I can't believe this is the last week of training. Yikes. This morning we did our last brick before the big day. I decided it was time to try out the TriKini shorts to see if I could ride and run in them. A little bit of getting used to, but it worked out. Our ride got cut a little short by a seat snafu. I had tried moving it up to adjust the height and apparently I didn't get it good and tight, so the first big bump and I was going down. By the time we got to the house to get the pliers, my knees felt like they were up to my eyeballs when I peddled. Needless to say, I can't let that happen on race day, so I'm contemplating drilling a hole through the spoke and putting a bolt through it so the seat will not go lower, tight or not.

Also had a snafu last Friday. I had ordered the "spare" swim cap "just in case", all that language. Marc had said that he doubted you could tear them up after I stated when I ordered it that I always felt like I was about to. Well, it turns out you can. Friday I went to put it on and ripped it into two pieces. And then I announced to myself and everyone around that I guessed I would go without that then as I put it back in my bag. Opps. Good thing the replacement is already on the way. Of course now I have to get another "replacement". Hopefully this isn't going to be a habit with me.

Today I also made myself a raceday checklist. One of the books we leafed through at Barnes and Noble mentioned a website that allows you to make a free custom checklist for raceday. Now if I just remembered to put everything on the checklist, I guess I'll remember to pack everything I need.