Saturday, May 14, 2011

The BIG DAY is tomorrow!!!!!

I totally suck and haven't written lately.....been really, really, REALLY busy with the many jobs I am working at the moment (Jeannie calls this "being Jamaican"), but I want you all to know I haven't been too busy to work out and am actually following through on the triathlon. Which is tomorrow, by the way. How did it get to be May already??? In fact, I've really stepped it up a lot over the past two months (mostly because I emailed my last post to my dear uncles who told me to stop writing about working out and just go work out.) Sooo, I did. I've been working on my long-distance bike skills, doing regular 30-mile bike rides with Reza, swimmming fairly long distances in the pool, and running....ummmm, here and there. Further distances than to the end of the driveway and back, but that's all you're getting me to admit to.

Last weekend Cathy, Lara and I (the triathlon team trifecta) and I did the pre-swim clinic, which is where the instructors tell you what to do in the ocean and you do a trial run. (Keep moving forward, don't get blown off course, don't get eaten by a shark pretty much sums it up.) You remember me telling you in the very beginning how I was a mermaid who loooooved water right?? Well, this mermaid scared herself stupid about sharks and couldn't catch her breath the entire swim. Note to self: ocean swimming is QUITE different than pool swimming. The swim distance itself was no big deal, easily doable, but the cold, murky water coupled with knowing that just 3 years ago a fellow triathlete was involved in a fatal shark attack not 5 miles down the beach from where we were freaked me out. Yeesh. Been working on getting that out of my mind all week long. After the swim we did a mini bike and run, half the distance we'll be doing tomorrow. It wasn't too bad, but after we were doing with our "mini trial" I still went home and passed out for about 3 hours. Hahaha.

Fast forward to today.....we picked up our race packets this morning, watched the orientation video of what to do and what not to do  "do not wear an Ipod or we will take it from you and sell it on Ebay." Booo. No music?? Huge bummer. Okay...Cathy promised she would sing "Eye of the Tiger" to me on the run. Please believe that this Chubby Bunny is going to hold her to it!

Here's a pic of the girls, while we walked down the beach to test the water temperature. Notice the grey skies....and the matching ocean color. 

                                                     (Lara on the left, Cathy on the right)

And yes, the water is still cold. Lara will be wearing a full wetsuit, Cathy a half suit, and I am going with a long-sleeved rashguard over my bathing suit. Hoping that will be enough to keep me warm. I am avoiding wearing a "yum yum yellow" bathing suit, even though I found an awesome one today that was on sale. According to Jason, my brother-in-law, sharks like yellow. So, dear readers...don't pee in the ocean anymore. For the bike and the run portion, I am hoping to just keep my swimsuit on so that I can avoid any awkward towel changes into a sports bra. Have any of you tried to do that before? 9 times out of 10 you drop the towel and show the world your naughty bits! If the zipper on my suit starts cutting into my skin like it often does during water polo games, I may have a game-time change of mind. Maybe someone will throw me some beads if I accidentally flash them.

I am NERVOUS. I am nervous because at the swim clinic most of the other athletes, although charming and full of encouragement for us newbies, had 0% body fat, and looked like they chewed up and spit out Chubby Bunnies on a regular basis. I am nervous because the water is still going to be cold, and there are still going to be sharks out there. I am nervous because as of 7 pm tonight, I will be riding a different (read: faster and better) bike, and now I am thinking about wiping out and embarrassing myself. I am nervous because although I've been practicing, the run is at the end and that is my weakest sport. Eeek. On the positive side, I have my sister and friend to do this with me, and my Dad and Reza will be waiting at the finish line to whisk us away to go have brunch and bloody mary's! (Eye on the prize here people.)

I am trying to post pictures, but my Bloggy Blog doesn't want to upload them so I will post tomorrow because it is after 8 pm and I am ready for bed because I have to be at Encinitas Beach tomorrow at 5:30 am. FIVE THIRTY. Leaving my house at 0500 hours. Oh my. That's early.

We have already decided this is the beginning of a new hobby for us (with potentially more blog posts....excited?!?!?!?), and I'm already addicted to the fun we've had training for it. It's been hard, I'm definitely not going to pretend it's easy...to find the time, to push yourself, to not stop when you want to. To workout when you'd rather be at happy hour, or laying on the couch at home after a stressful day at work....but I'm super excited for tomorrow, and my goal is to make sure I am NOT the very last person to cross the finish line. 2nd to last is fine, because it's not about winning, it's only about "tri-ing." Get it? LOL. :)




                                              MGMT "Electric Feel" because it always puts a smile on my face.


Thanks for cheering me on throughout this process. I appreciate each one of you.

With love,

Encinitas Sprint Triathlon Participant Number 391

1 comment:

  1. You go girl!!!! :)

    I don't think the sharks will like you - so stop worrying about it. (That's a mother's job anyway.)

    I hear the bloody marys at that restaurant are awesome, so have one for me.

    Love you!

    Mom

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