Hair balls.

Three "0" days in a row means I've been battling a nasty little sinus infection. After a few mornings of coughing up what could only feel like hair balls to me, I think I have almost beaten it. I'd like to thank Ricolla, orange juice, water, and clementines for my success. I couldn't have done it without you!

In a way, I'm happy it hit me now rather than later on in the "serious" training... oh well, its let me catch up on my television watching. Who knew Jeopardy could be so amazing.

Stay healthy.

Good Song: copeland - eat, sleep, repeat

RIP

..and this is what cracked Carbon Fiber looks like.

Good Song: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - House Fire

Poor cage bolt.

At O'Dark 30 I finally realized where the freaking rattling was coming from on my bike. Of all things, it was a stripped cage bolt. Of course, I tried to unscrew it unsuccessfully and thus made the rattling even louder on the ride following this escapade. If I ever want to have people ride with me again, I need to fix this biatch ASAP. On the other hand, getting it fixed will mean going without the road bike for a couple days...but I guess it would just mean taking the MTB out on the pavement for some rides. Big "no-no" in my book, but when in Rome...?

Take it to the chorus!

Good Song: Doves - Far From Grace

Hands up - and wave, and wave, and wave!

D - C UNITED. Lost. Son of a... and I was there to witness it. End of their season. Start of mine! Coincidence? I think not! My feet were freezing through the game, as I got a whole beer poured on them during a first-half goal attempt. Hoping it would be for the best, and result in a goal I was sorely mistaken. Instead I came out with a pair of wet, hoppy socks - and one less beer.

Tomorrow morning begins my assault on St. Croix, and if I play my cards right - Kona. Its going to be a long road, with many wrong turns (to bars, and ladies) but we'll get through it together. Most of the time I'll probably just be wondering are we gonna get hopped up enough to make some bad decisions? And I hope the answer is an emphatic - YES! So let's raise up our drinks, and give some love to the good times and the bad times that lie ahead. This should be one crazy ride!

Training partners apply within. Lata!

Good Song: Headlights - Put Us Back Together

Hello, sun?

Is it too early to have S.A.D? You know, that whole Seasonal Affective Disorder. It must be serious, as there are entire websites devoted to it. I know the time only changed a couple days ago, but damn, this no-sun thing really hurts. I wake up - workout, dark. Go to work, no windows. Go home, dark again! Can't win... There is really only one clear solution to this: Buy a place in New Zealand. Its still summer there, and I think it will really help with "the womens" if I could tell them I have another place in the So. Hemisphere. Thoughts/feelings?

Well, back to staring at this kitten. Its the only thing thats going to get me through until March.

Peace out!

Good Song: The Polyphonic Spree - Mental Cabaret

A learning experience.

Well, the marathon is over. I am limping up and down stairs, and eating and drinking everything in sight. I came out of it with a 3:48:13. Which, depending on how you look at it could be good or bad. Good that its a personal best by about 30 minutes compared to my first marathon(this being my second). Bad that at the 15 mile marker I was on pace to run a 3:05 or so. I guess there is something in this whole "pacing" thing I keep hearing about. Plus I didn't eat or drink enough I think, and thus had a 1-2-3 punch knockout of hardcore bonk and severe leg cramps and a killer headwind in miles 18 to 22 - without an adequate (read: salty goodness) aid station in sight equals mucho walking. S'all good. I think with more running, and tempo during the longer runs I can easily keep that pace I was on for the rest of the race. Here are how the splits fell out:

START 5 Mile 10 Mile Half 15 Mile 20 Mile 23.5 Mile FINISH
8:35:16 AM EST 0:34:10 1:08:24 1:31:05 1:46:42 2:39:33 3:13:50 03:48:13
TIME Chip Time: 03:48:13 Clock: 03:48:27 Pace: 8:42

Placement Overall: 2556 Gender: 2071 Division: 167

I was also 436th female across the line. Holla!

And of course a shout-out to everyone that came out to give their support. It meant so much to see you cheering. Thanks!

You stay classy...world.

Good Song: All-American Rejects - It Ends Tonight

A fall day

Yo, whats up!

"Cold" is the word of the week. Seems as though Fall just ran right in without any care or warning. Makes for perfect running weather atleast! The nervousness has intensified as the race draws closer this weekend. How fast should I go out? How long can I maintain the pace I want to keep? Will I hit "the wall"? What the hell am I even going to wear!? Damn decisions, more stressed out about this then some of the bigger triathlons I've done.

On a less stressful note, the folks over at Set-Up Inc. just made the Virginia Triathlon Series results official, and turns out I won my age group. Normann watch out! I'm gunnin' for you now...
Maybe as the prize they'll send me a nice new pair of Zipp wheels. I could use those.

4 days!!

Good Song: Editors - Colours